Luís Castro confirms the power of money when leaving Botafogo – 7/2/2023 – O Mundo É uma Bola

I read that Pope Francis declared in the Vatican, in front of thousands of faithful, in a tone of concern for the future of the planet, that in the world “man does not rule, but money” and that “what dominates is a needy financial system of ethics”.

I make this introduction to address the departure of the Portuguese Luís Castro, 61, from Botafogo.

The coach who led the lone star team to the comfortable leadership of the Brazilian Championship –started the 13th round with a seven point lead over the closest pursuer– decided to break the contract, which would run until the end of the year.

Castro will take over the technical management of Al Nassr, from Saudi Arabia, which has in its ranks his compatriot Cristiano Ronaldo, 38, one of the best footballers of this century but who is, despite having a privileged physique that helps him to remain competitive, in the throes of the career.

What leads a coach to change a solid path towards winning a major title in the five-time world champion country, which has clubs of great name, shirt and tradition (even centenary, as is Botafogo), for a championship in a nation peripheral in football?

Essentially, money. Castro, as published by sports websites, will receive over BRL 30 million a year from Al Nassr, or almost double what Botafogo paid him.

As much as the coach has explained that he wanted to stay, that he likes the club and the fans, thinking rationally it is not a proposal that should be thrown away, considering that his new and wealthy boss will bear the termination fine, of about R$ 10 million.

Most professionals, from any area, who receive a much more advantageous financial offer from a competing company, to perform the same function, change jobs. A lot of people relate money to happiness, even though this is not an absolute truth.

The issue is precisely this, the rationality of attitudes.

Football should be (and until a certain day, which is now some 40 or 50 years away, I believe it was) passionate, an activity in which coaches and players valued, more than the dollar signs, the love for the club and its fans.

In football, only the fan fulfills this role of veneration. When I was younger, I heard a kind of saying (politically incorrect, but that seemed true to me): “You change your wife, change your religion, change your sex, but never change your team”.

It’s that fidelity, abandoned by sports professionals a few decades ago. There is no longer attachment to the club’s colors. Involvement is lacking. Passion is lacking. Lacks love.

It is a rarity for a player to start his career in a team and end up there, or to commit to the team for even half a decade, if he has the option to do so – often the club wants to sell, as it needs to build cash, and then the decision is made. run away from the athlete.

However, the norm today, for coaches and players, is to prioritize the economic side. Summing up in one sentence: money is king.

Castro is no exception, he is the rule, and, as a result of his decision, he will enhance his assets and impoverish his prominence in the media, since the media hardly follow the technically limited Saudi football.

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