Casares splurges, Tolói out, Olten charged, Tapia held: São Paulo's back! | OneFootball

São Paulo is definitely back. This Thursday’s (23) news involving the Morumbi club is absolutely frightening, but nothing that hasn’t already become routine for Tricolor in recent months. We’re the ones who had gotten out of the habit.

It starts with the embarrassing comeback loss on Thursday night (22), 2-1 to Athletico-PR in the return of the Brasileirão. And with just over six thousand fans at Cícero de Souza Marques stadium, in Bragança Paulista, since Morumbi has been handed over for concerts. Everything already went wrong in the post-World Cup return.

PRESIDENT WITHOUT LIMITS

After fans confronted the players while they were still on the pitch, hurling insults at the Tricolor squad after the defeat, the day began with the revelation that former president Julio Casares spent more than R$1 million on luxury items, all charged to São Paulo’s corporate credit card during his tenure, between January 2021 and December 2025.

Among the outrageous expenses were frequent meals at luxury restaurants, shopping at international designer stores, travel, and personal care. The cigar lounge and tobacconist Esch Café was visited by Casares 71 times, totaling more than R$77,000. Another 53 payments were made at the Italian restaurant Gero, totaling nearly R$72,000. Click here to see all the details of the former president’s spending.

INJURY ROUTINE

Without much time to process that news, São Paulo released the exam results for center-back Rafael Tolói, who left the field on Wednesday night in pain. And guess what? He became yet another absence from the squad after being diagnosed with a strain in the back of his right thigh.

According to the club, Tolói has already begun his recovery process under the care of the club’s physiotherapy department and has been ruled out for the team’s next match, against Flamengo, this Sunday (26), at 6:30 p.m. Brasília time, at the Maracanã.

Hold on, there’s more! Later this afternoon, news also emerged that São Paulo Deliberative Council president Olten Ayres was indicted by Civil Police for ideological falsehood, and the case will now go to the Public Prosecutor’s Office for a decision.

The case involving the alleged fraud committed by Olten was verified by Civil Police through a document dated December 17, 2025, signed by two members of the Advisory Council, José Eduardo Mesquita Pimenta and Ives Granda, which had actually been handed to them already prepared by the club’s Deliberative Council president merely for their signatures. Understand all the details here.

MARKET FROZEN

There was also news about the Tricolor transfer market, obviously negative. Since São Paulo has been punished by FIFA with a transfer ban, it cannot register new signings, such as Portuguese center-back Domingos Duarte, who signed a two-season contract with the club.

However, because of the punishment imposed by FIFA, the Portuguese player still could not be registered in the CBF’s BID and is not available to coach Dorival Júnior. As AVANTE MEU TRICOLOR revealed, the São Paulo board’s plan is to settle the outstanding payment issues with Lazio over the permanent transfer of Marcos Antônio by next weekend.

TAPIA EXIT COULD FALL THROUGH

And to wrap up São Paulo’s terrible day, negotiations for forward Gonzalo Tapia’s loan move to Columbus Crew of Major League Soccer (MLS) lost momentum and are close to ending badly.

The main obstacle in the deal involves a deadlock over the player’s salary terms. São Paulo’s board has not received any response from the Chilean’s representatives for days and is already considering alternative scenarios for the player’s future. Click here to see all the details of the negotiation.

And you, fan, are you already missing watching a Congo vs. Panama match and not having to think about São Paulo? There are exactly 3 years and 11 months left until the next World Cup, and counting…

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.