A conta não fecha no São Paulo — nem com receita recorde | OneFootball

São Paulo’s financial reports for the first five months of 2025 show a club still grappling with persistent structural issues, despite exceeding initial revenue projections, according to details published by Arquibancada Tricolor drawing from journalist Alexandre Giesbrecht’s analysis. The club closed the period with a deficit of R$ 30.5 million, making clear that recent measures to improve the bottom line have yet to meaningfully shift São Paulo away from long-standing financial imbalances.

Total revenue through May reached R$ 352.6 million, up 15.9 percent on budget expectations. That increase, however, was more than offset by a 14.2 percent rise in expenses. The main driver of this spending surge remains the professional football operation, which accounts for 76.8 percent of the total difference between planned and actual costs. This trend underlines the missed targets set by the current management, whose stated goal has been to rein in costs associated with the first-team squad.

Financial outlays remain problematic elsewhere. São Paulo’s resort to further borrowing is notable, as the club added another R$ 34.9 million in new loans during the reporting period. While a dedicated credit rights investment fund (FIDC) was established in an effort to manage and reduce interest-related overheads, it has not delivered the intended relief. Interest payments still weigh heavily on the club’s accounts, compounding operational deficits.

Even if financial expenses linked to borrowings are stripped out of the calculations, operational expenditure reveals a more deeply entrenched issue—the lack of effective cost control mechanisms across the club’s structure. Poor discipline in managing outgoings has become a historical pattern, spanning successive management teams, and continues to limit São Paulo’s ability to restore fiscal equilibrium.

Although May’s results reflect a budget outcome “better than expected” in some respects, the underlying reality is a familiar one for São Paulo: rising income is repeatedly cancelled out by escalating and recurring costs. The ongoing inability to implement successful spending reforms, particularly on the football side, remains the principal obstacle facing the club’s efforts to achieve long-term financial solvency.

(Sources: Arquibancada Tricolor, Alexandre Giesbrecht – Anotações Tricolores)

Photo by Alexandre Schneider/Getty Images