Belmonte rules out São Paulo presidency now, open to future run | OneFootball

After being dismissed from his position as football director at São Paulo last Friday, Carlos Belmonte spoke for the first time about his future within the club. In an interview with ESPN, the now former executive ruled out, at least for now, the possibility of running for the club presidency in the upcoming elections, although he does not rule out considering a candidacy further down the line.

“I might eventually be a candidate in the future, but at this moment I’m not thinking about that. Honestly, I want to spend time with my family. I was very absent for five years. I have a family tradition of traveling once a year with my children and my granddaughter, and I want to do that more often. I want to dedicate myself much more to my family,” he said.

“If my peers over the next year think I’m a good name… because no one is a candidate just for themselves. If they come to me and believe I’m a good name, I’ll consider it. At this moment, I’m just a counselor and I’ll try to help president Julio (Casares) as much as I can to finish his term in the best way possible,” he added.

Departure Marked by Political Strain

Belmonte had been part of Julio Casares’ administration since the beginning of 2021, but, as reported behind the scenes, the relationship between the two had become strained due to internal political issues, already with an eye on the club’s upcoming elections. Even weakened, the director had not considered resigning. However, the situation changed after the 6-0 defeat to Fluminense at Maracanã, when São Paulo announced his departure.

Belmonte explained that the disagreement with Casares’ decision to have superintendent Marcio Carlomagno more present at the training center weighed heavily on his decision.

“After the defeat to Mirassol, president Julio decided to have superintendent Marcio more present at the training center. I didn’t agree, and so I decided to leave. I stayed at the training center to give peace of mind to the squad, because my relationship with the players is very good. The arrival of a new person generates a lot of distrust. I wanted to show that Márcio is a good professional and that I would continue to support the group,” he said.

Absence from Trips

The former director also commented on why he didn’t travel with the team for the last matches. According to him, his wife was hospitalized after undergoing surgery, and Carlomagno had already been accompanying the squad on away games.

“I didn’t go on the trip because there were three games when my wife was having surgery, and I stayed at the hospital with her. Against Vasco, Flamengo, and Bragantino I was at the hospital. After that, I only missed one or two games, but Márcio was already going, so I thought it was unnecessary for another director to attend the games. I stepped back because I was going to leave, and why didn’t I step back at first? Because I thought I was very important to give peace of mind to the squad,” he concluded.

Upcoming São Paulo Matches

Match: São Paulo vs Internacional Date and time: December 3 (Wednesday) | 8:00 PM (Brasília time) Competition: Campeonato Brasileiro Venue: Vila Belmiro

Match: Vitória vs São Paulo Date and time: December 7 (Sunday) | 4:00 PM (Brasília time) Competition: Campeonato Brasileiro Venue: Barradão

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