Entry into Brazil of multi-club groups generates new business, but also doubts among fans

Partner in the management of Resende, which revealed Jeffinho and still held 40% of his economic rights, Lyon bought the striker from Botafogo, a club with which the alvinegro shares the same owner: the American John Textor. The ties between the three ends of the deal, concluded last week, tied a knot in the heads of fans. To the point that people from Botafogo have questioned, on social media, whether the money released (a total of 10 million euros, 6 million for the club from Rio de Janeiro and the other 4 million for the one in the south of the state of Rio) would in fact circulate between parts. A doubt that has become common in times of multiclub conglomerates.

With the approval of Sociedades Anônimas do Futebol, Brazil has become, since last year, a market to be explored. Due to its greater financial power, the same investors that were already operating abroad acquired the first SAFs. With that, clubs like Vasco, Botafogo and Bahia started to have the same owner as other associations abroad.

As this is still a recent scenario, it is natural for confusion to arise. And one of them precisely involves negotiations between clubs from the same conglomerate, as was the case with Jeffinho.

Even in these conglomerates, each club has a teller. They are their own expenses, income and accountability in the country they are in. Furthermore, although there is a common owner that gives this homogeneous appearance to the group, there are other (distinct) partners on each side.

In the case of Botafogo and Lyon, for example, Eagle Football, from Textor, is the joint owner (which joins them to Crystal Palace, from England; and RWD Molenbeek, from Belgium). But, while in the Brazilian club the company has the sports association itself as a partner (owner of 10% of SAF shares), in each of the others the partners are different.

Therefore, there is no situation in which the money remains in an eventual box of the conglomerate. He leaves Lyon’s coffers and enters Botafogo’s, in addition to Resende. Proof of this is that, initially, the business format would be a loan with a purchase option. But the board of the French club asked that the agreement be reviewed for not agreeing with the values ​​set for a negotiation that was not final. An example that also shows how each club has decision-making power over the signings to be made, with no possibility of impositions “from above”.

The proceeds from the sale of Jeffinho even made the club look at the market with different eyes. It already plans to hire at least two reinforcements for this month of February.

The separation of cashiers between clubs is valid in other groups. Like the American fund 777 Partners (which owns properties in six, including Vasco) and the City Football Group (composed of 12 associations, including Manchester and Bahia).

Still in the field of doubts raised by the conglomerates, the priority given to each one of them is also common. In fact, while some groups are organized horizontally (without distinction between the members that compose it), there are those that have a pyramid format, with one of the teams having the status of main. City is the prime example.

It is worth remembering that Bahia has a signed contract that provides for an investment of R$ 1 billion over 15 years. Just below the budget of the Manchester team. There is no opening for retreat of these numbers.

It is to avoid this possible loss of attention from investors that clubs stipulate, in contracts, minimum investments. Vasco’s with the 777, for example, provides for an injection of R$ 700 million by 2025 (of which R$ 190 million has already entered in 2022). Botafogo, whose fans even feared that it would become a satellite club of Lyon (when it was initially announced that Jeffinho would go on loan to the club), agreed with Textor an injection of R$ 400 million in the first three years. This is a minimum value. It can grow. But shrink, never.