Diego Fernandes polls Morumbis fans on São Paulo job | OneFootball

Identified as a potential investor in São Paulo, Diego Fernandes has been working with the real possibility of taking over the club's management. Not surprisingly, people who work in the businessman's office have been present at Tricolor's games to interview fans and get their opinion on this process.

Diego Fernandes gained the spotlight in the press after mediating the hiring of coach Carlo Ancelotti by the Brazilian National Team. He was the one who conducted the negotiations with the Italian coach, being a kind of "trusted man" of the CBF.

According to CNN, Diego Fernandes would already have the endorsement of other investors willing to enter the business, in addition to a Brazilian bank.

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The major obstacle for the group led by the businessman will be São Paulo's politics, whose associative model is pointed out as the main responsible for the crisis the club is currently going through. Tricolor's counselors are usually against the possibility of a SAF, that is, the negotiations to make the business viable would not be easy at all.

The current president of São Paulo, Julio Casares, has been exploring some market options to give some relief to the club's cash flow. After the FIDC (investment fund in receivable rights) which, in practice, is a loan with cheaper rates than traditional ones, Tricolor is articulating a FIP (investment fund in participations) directed at the youth categories, in Cotia.

This FIP, also in conjunction with Galápagos Capital and OutField, would raise R$ 250 million for São Paulo. R$ 50 million would be destined to pay off debts, while the rest would be invested in infrastructure, employees and athlete recruitment, among other club needs to optimize the base formation process.

In this model, São Paulo would own 70% of the youth categories. The other 30% would belong to investors. In case of selling an athlete formed in Cotia, whoever contributed to this FIP will have the right to 30% of the net income from the negotiation, already deducting taxes, agent's commission, among other operation costs.

In the model being articulated by Diego Fernandes, the FIP could be another obstacle to take over São Paulo, since the businessman's group of investors would not have total control of the club, since the youth categories have already been "sliced".

Who is Diego Fernandes?

Passionate about sports and very well connected in the field, Diego Fernandes boasts a contact list that many would dream of having. The businessman, who works in the financial market, is CEO of O8 Partners and has more than 100 players and former players as clients, including Neymar and Vinícius Júnior.

Diego Fernandes often attends gala events, summer parties in Europe and major competitions in various sports, always accompanied by athletes and other celebrities who are global icons.

The list is extensive. On Diego Fernandes' social networks there are records with Haaland, Lamine Yamal, Formula 1 drivers like Gabriel Bortoleto, Lando Norris, Max Verstappen, among others, the president of UFC, Dana White, the former boxer, Mike Tyson, the tennis player Carlos Alcaraz and even the president of the USA, Donald Trump.

It was precisely the businessman's good relationship with football players and other sports personalities that made him chosen by the former president of the CBF, Ednaldo Rodrigues, to negotiate directly with Carlo Ancelotti his move to the Brazilian National Team.

Diego Fernandes is also a patron of Pinacoteca and MASP, in São Paulo, and supports the NGO SOS Mata Atlântica. In addition to sports, the businessman is very active in issues related to environmental preservation.

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