João Dória can assume the presidency of a Brazilian giant: understand!

Part of Santos fans and a group of advisers try to convince the former mayor of the capital of São Paulo and former governor of the State of São Paulo, João Doria, to run for election to the club’s presidency, once again threatened with relegation, harassed by a long financial crisis and mired in debt.

Doria is a Santos fan and follows some of the team’s games in Vila Belmiro. He received messages from fans and has the support of part of the advisers to launch himself as a candidate. The former toucan, however, showed no interest in venturing into Santos politics.

To Estadão, Doria stated, through his advisory, that he can help and support any candidacy “that proves to be capable of good management”, but that he will not be one of the candidates for the election in December.

The former mayor of São Paulo has already participated in Santos politics. He was elected advisor to the São Paulo club in 2009 and re-elected in 2011. He ended up, however, being retired for absences and excluded from voting until 2017.

Fans and advisors who defend the idea of ​​Doria running as a candidate, such as the current chairman of the Deliberative Council, Celso Jatene, see in the former governor of São Paulo the ability to lead Santos’ migration from the non-profit associative model to the business model, transforming the club in Sociedade Anônima do Futebol (SAF).

The former governor of São Paulo says he will no longer return to public life, does not consider joining a political party and wants to continue in the private sector.

So far, businessman Ricardo Agostinho and administrator Rodrigo Marino were the only two to officially launch their candidacies for the presidency of Santos. Agostinho’s ticket has Ivan Luduvice as vice-president and Marino has not defined who will be his vice-presidential candidate. The current president, Andres Rueda, is unlikely to seek re-election.

Agostinho, who defends the transformation of Santos into SAF, had already applied in 2020, when he was placed third. Marino also launched his name in that election, finishing in second place, behind elected Andres Rueda, who will not seek re-election. The election is due to be held on December 9.