Breaking: director quits São Paulo after controversial commission row | OneFootball

After the fallout caused by a commission considered irregular in the sponsorship contract with Unimed, Eduardo Toni resigned from his position as São Paulo’s marketing director on Thursday night (30).

At the Morumbi club since early 2021, he was one of the hired, non-statutory directors and also one of the few figures with close ties to former president Julio Casares to be kept on under Harry Massis Júnior’s new administration.

According to what AVANTE MEU TRICOLOR learned, Toni’s name had always been among the favorites to be dismissed, but since the club was handling commercial negotiations considered essential after Casares’ resignation (such as the contract renewal with New Balance), Massis chose to keep him. Sources even reported difficulty in finding someone in the market who could replace the former director in time to continue discussions on the deals.

The resignation came after a brief meeting between Toni and Massis at Morumbi. The controversial contract with Unimed was the trigger for the dissatisfaction of council members and the president’s political allies.

The deal ended up being revised to remove the payment of R$ 4.5 million in commissions to an intermediary company. Originally, the agreement provided that broker New Honest would receive R$ 1.5 million per year over the partnership’s three-year term for allegedly facilitating the deal.

The main contract with Unimed remains set at a total of R$ 45 million (R$ 15 million annually) for displaying the brand on the back of the jersey, replacing Blue, another health insurance broker that terminated its deal with the Morumbi club last year. The space had remained vacant since then.

The choice of New Honest, recommended by the marketing department under Eduardo Toni’s leadership, sparked internal questions and pressure on president Harry Massis Júnior to dismiss the director.

The broker, which already manages the club employees’ and athletes’ health plans, has its registered headquarters at Morumbi’s own address. Although the company presents itself as a specialist in insurance for the sports sector and is authorized to broker deals, the Tricolor board concluded in recent weeks that New Honest does not have the appropriate intermediary profile for this type of sponsorship package.

As a result, the document was redrafted without the commission clause even before being submitted to the higher bodies. With the intermediary fee removed, the new version of the agreement will now go to the club’s Board of Directors and Deliberative Council for a vote and approval.

In an open letter released after his request to leave São Paulo, Toni pushed back against accusations of irregularities.

“There has been no illegal conduct in any of the deals made during this period, no money has been diverted, there is nothing wrong. I received support from several of São Paulo’s commercial partners, which makes me proud and puts an end to any suspicion about my spotless reputation,” he wrote.

“Unfortunately, the hatred and fratricidal infighting of São Paulo’s internal politics undermine the continuation of any work and put the institution’s future at risk,” he added.

The former director also praised his work in Tricolor’s marketing department over the last few years.

“I am ending my chapter at São Paulo after five years and four months of hard work, effort, and dedication. I accepted this challenge in 2021 mainly out of love for the club. In these 64 months under my leadership, we increased marketing revenue more than tenfold, turned the brand around, and began rebuilding the department,” he concluded, closing the letter with statements from former and current commercial partners of the club in his favor.

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