Corinthians miss R$150m loan payment, LFU to deduct with interest | OneFootball

The Corinthians did not repay the R$ 150 million loan taken from Liga Forte União (LFU) as part of the agreement between the parties for the broadcast rights of the Brazilian Championship Serie A from 2025 to 2029. Therefore, the club will forgo receiving about R$ 30 million per year until the contract expires, with the first deduction expected this season.

At the time of signing the contract with LFU, during Augusto Melo's management, it was agreed that Corinthians would receive a credit of R$ 150 million, provided by XP Investimentos.

The club had the opportunity, due to a contractual provision, to "return" the funds by October of this year. In this case, the interest would convert into credit and fall to Corinthians starting in 2026. However, in financial crisis, the team could not take advantage of the agreed condition.

This means that the R$ 150 million the club received is now considered, starting this month, a loan that must be repaid with an interest rate of CDI+3.

The agreement with LFU provides Corinthians with a base revenue of approximately R$ 210 million per year. The amount varies according to the team's performance in the Brasileirão. In case of a title, for example, the team would pocket R$ 250 million.

In any case, the amount related to the loan will be deducted from the revenue the club is to receive, which prevents default and ensures payment to LFU. Corinthians will start receiving the base amount of R$ 180 million, about R$ 30 million less per season, on average.

Details of the contract with LFU

Corinthians announced the agreement for affiliation with LFU last July. Gazeta Esportiva obtained details of the contract signed between the parties.

The division of the amounts that LFU will pay to the clubs that are part of the group is stipulated as follows:

An important point of the contract is related to the payment of the prize for audience. In the case of LFU, it is established that such revenues respect a ranking with pre-established values.

In practice, this means that the audience percentage will not relate to the payment percentage. Gazeta Esportiva found that the first place in the LFU audience ranking, for example, should receive about 9.5% of the total amount, summing all clubs and within the 25% portion stipulated for this. Even if a club achieves higher audience marks, it will never receive more than the pre-established 9.5%.

The LFU proposal also provides for the payment of a commission to LiveMode, the company that will negotiate and promote the broadcast of the games.

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