Corinthians president on club finances and meeting with SAFIEL | OneFootball

On the night of this Tuesday (1), Corinthians president Osmar Stabile was interviewed by Rádio Energia 97 and once again commented on the possibility of transforming the club into a Football Corporation (SAF). At the beginning of last week, Corinthians’ top leadership met with the creators of SAFIEL, which proposes a change in the club’s administrative model, allowing greater fan participation in the club’s day-to-day decisions.

“We had that meeting, and for the first time they requested a documented meeting. They sent the request to us. I was able to bring together the Deliberative Council, the Advisory Council (Cori), and the Fiscal Council so that we could talk to them. We asked some questions that they were able to answer at that moment, and we also left some issues to be answered later. They set a one-week deadline, until Friday, I believe. Since our conversation took place last Friday, they were supposed to respond by this Friday. We are waiting for that response,” he began.

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After a four-hour meeting last Monday (24), SAFIEL members received a document containing questions from Corinthians executives regarding the project and are expected to send their answers to the board by the end of this week. This Monday (31), the group published an official statement on its social media informing that it accepted Osmar Stabile’s offer regarding the possibility of settling the Neo Química Arena debt.

“They (SAFIEL) sent an email, from what I saw in the press, and forwarded it to the Fiscal Council, the Deliberative Council, Cori, and the presidency. I believe the meeting for them to answer the questions should be called, but now I need to wait to know when they will present those answers. So, they want to wait for those answers before making any decision or doing anything,” he continued.

Later, the president was asked about Corinthians’ current financial situation, as the club has a debt of approximately R$ 3 billion. In his response, the executive said the club has been cutting costs in the basketball and futsal departments, after speculation that both sports would be discontinued at the end of last season.

“Corinthians needs to do work on cost reduction. We have adopted this measure in all departments, including futsal and basketball. We also reduced the transfer of resources from football to the social club. I remember saying that Corinthians was a box full of holes and that we needed to close them little by little. That’s what we are doing. We have several contracts that expire at the end of the year and will not necessarily need to be renewed. We need to keep a competitive team, but we cannot spend more than we bring in.”

It is worth remembering that, at this moment, Corinthians is barred from registering possible new signings, as it has been punished with three transfer bans, two by FIFA and one by the CNRD (National Chamber for Dispute Resolution, a CBF body), totaling approximately R$ 22 million due to pending issues related to the signings of José Martínez and Charles, both in mid-2024, and for failure to pay the fifth CNRD installment — set at R$ 8 million. The strained cash flow has led the club to resort to advancing future revenue to settle urgent debts, something that was also addressed by the executive.

“Revenue participation, I think almost everyone does that throughout the year. Corinthians’ Statute allows advancing up to 30% of the following year’s revenue. We still have not resorted to that limit because what put a lot of pressure on us was the transfer ban. We had to pay around R$ 120 million in transfer bans, in addition to other smaller amounts, and that ended up suffocating us financially.”

“I can advance up to 30% of the following year’s revenue. That ends up creating a kind of cycle, because if I advance those 30% now, the next president will also be able to advance up to 30% of the following year’s revenue. But this is allowed by Corinthians’ Statute. If it becomes necessary to exceed that limit, the matter must be taken to Cori and the Deliberative Council for prior approval. Within the 30%, therefore, I can make the advance normally, in compliance with the law and Corinthians’ Statute.”

He added: “Other presidents have already made advances even above that limit without taking the matter to the Deliberative Council. On the other hand, I have been consulting Cori and the Deliberative Council whenever I need to deal with situations provided for in the Statute, and we have managed to resolve these issues. We had, for example, the case of Memphis himself, which exceeded the limit of 40,000 minimum wages. We took the situation to Cori and managed to resolve it. If necessary, we will also resort to advancing revenue, especially to guarantee the payment of salaries and image rights.”

Osmar Stabile also commented on the club’s debt with Caixa Econômica Federal for the construction of Neo Química Arena, inaugurated in 2014. In an interview with ESPN Brasil last Friday (28), the executive said he would sign a binding proposal if SAFIEL agreed to assume the Arena debt.

“One of the major problems we have today is the payments related to Caixa. Last year, we paid R$ 720 million, in addition to the R$ 42 million raised through the crowdfunding campaign. This year, R$ 52 million has already been paid, and we still have a reserve fund of more than R$ 7 million. I believe that, once we manage to solve this issue, we will reduce expenses and improve Corinthians’ financial results. The goal is precisely to prevent the club from continuing to spend more than it brings in,” he said.

Deal structure foresees raising between R$ 2.5 billion and R$ 3 billion – Click here to check the full details of the proposal

The proposal provides for the creation of SAFIEL as a corporation responsible for fully absorbing Corinthians’ so-called “Football Perimeter.” Among the assets that would be transferred are players’ economic and registration rights, sponsorship contracts, licensing, broadcasting, sports and administrative infrastructure, trademarks, databases, and liabilities linked to football operations.

The model presented sets an initial fundraising target of R$ 2.5 billion, with the possibility of increasing it to up to R$ 3 billion in the event of excess investor demand.

According to the document, the funds raised will be primarily allocated to the club’s financial restructuring, including the payment or renegotiation of football-related debts, investments in the professional squad, youth academy, infrastructure, technology, and governance and compliance programs. The proposal also provides for an initial contribution of up to R$ 50 million to the social club.

In exchange for the transfer of football operations to the new company, Corinthians would receive an equity stake in the SAF, royalties for the use of the brand and institutional identity — estimated at approximately R$ 600 million over ten years — as well as a fee, a kind of remuneration charge for the partnership and the structuring of the deal, corresponding to 2% of the amount raised.

The project also establishes a model of popular participation. Common voting shares would be intended exclusively for Corinthians fans, with a minimum investment set at R$ 250. Each CPF would have a maximum ownership limit of 2% of the voting capital, a mechanism aimed at preventing the formation of controlling groups and ensuring dispersed ownership. Institutional investors could only enter through non-voting preferred shares, if necessary to complete the fundraising.

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