José Augusto Mendes details financial overhaul, VP picks at Corinthians | OneFootball

Corinthians presidential pre-candidate José Augusto Mendes presented some of the main measures he intends to adopt if elected to lead the club in the 2027-2029 term. Among the priorities are reducing expenses, reviewing contracts, renegotiating short-term financial commitments, and building an administrative structure made up of specialized professionals.

In an interview with Meu Timão, the lifetime council member also explained the makeup of his ticket, which will have Marcelo Mandel and Mirella Ramaciotti as candidates for the two vice-presidencies. In addition, the project includes André Mastrobuono as CEO of a potential administration.

Photo: José Manoel Idalgo/ Agência Corinthians

José Augusto is currently one of five pre-candidates who have expressed their intention to run for the presidency. Sérgio Janikian, André Negão, Rozallah Santoro, and André Castro have also announced their pre-candidacies.

The election is scheduled for November 28 at Parque São Jorge and will determine the president, two vice-presidents, 200 three-year council members, and 50 alternates for the next term.

The first year would focus on reorganizing the finances

The financial situation appears as one of the priorities presented by José Augusto. The pre-candidate projects difficulties especially at the beginning of a potential administration and considers it necessary to use the first year to lay the foundations for a restructuring.

The plan presented by Mendes calls for an analysis of the club’s existing contracts and financial obligations right at the start of the term. The stated intention is to reduce waste, renegotiate short-term debts, and establish greater control over payments.

“Corinthians fans should expect our first year to be very difficult. Every restructuring has a fundamental first year, because that’s when you create the foundation to later get out of the situation. Starting in the second year, I hope we begin to see improvements, and in the third, that those improvements are even more evident. The main reason for bringing in a qualified team, with people the market knows, is credibility.

That way you can sit down with creditors and banks under different conditions and try to review short-term debt, costs, and contracts. In the first days or weeks, we will look at all the contracts. All payments will have to go through the approval of the president and the CEO. First, we need to stop the bleeding: reduce waste, cut costs, and renegotiate short-term debt. Right after that, we will need to discuss some kind of investment in the club.”

The proposal also involves seeking new sources of revenue. José Augusto said there is still financial information to which the candidates have not had access, especially regarding revenues that may have already been advanced. According to him, this scenario increases the need for a detailed analysis of the accounts before the first decisions are made.

“Neither the fans nor we, the council members, have all the information about the revenues that have already been advanced. That’s why we requested access to this data. In the first or second month, we will have to cut many costs and be creative with a professional marketing structure to seek new revenues.

I am optimistic about Corinthians’ potential to increase revenue, but in the short term we will need some form of capital injection. The cost of football also needs to be analyzed. When contracts expire at the end of the year, we will need to look at which players should or should not renew, together with the coaching staff. We need to reduce costs and increase revenue quickly.”

The CEO would be part of the administrative structure

In addition to the financial measures, José Augusto intends to change Corinthians’ internal organization. André Mastrobuono is the name chosen by the pre-candidate to serve as CEO if his ticket wins the election.

According to Mendes, the choice is related to the executive’s experience in restructuring processes. The proposal is for strategic areas of the administration to be occupied by professionals in technical roles, reducing political interference in those departments.

“We have already announced our vice-presidents, Marcelo Mandel and Mirella (Ramaciotti), and we are not here trying to strike deals to merge tickets. We fully believe in our proposal. I am bringing André Mastrobuono to work at Corinthians as CEO, a professional with around 20 years of experience in restructurings, having taken part in seven processes of this kind in Brazil and abroad.”

According to the pre-candidate, Mastrobuono is already working on assembling a team for different departments of a potential administration.

“He (André Mastrobuono) is already putting together a team for the financial, legal, commercial, purchasing, and human resources departments — made up of qualified Corinthians supporters, with experience and dedication to lead this transformation. These are positions that need to be strictly technical, because political management in these areas is not feasible. We are going to war, and I need war generals to take on these roles.”

Mendes explains the choice of Marcelo Mandel and Mirella Ramaciotti

The makeup of the vice-presidencies was also addressed by José Augusto. Marcelo Mandel and Mirella Ramaciotti have already been defined to join the council member on the ticket.

About Mandel, the pre-candidate highlighted the relationship built over the last few years and the executive’s participation in discussions related to the direction of Corinthians.

“Over the last few years, Marcelo has been part of the group with whom I discuss ideas for Corinthians. That was the main reason for the invitation: he is someone I know, someone I trust, who is extremely competent and knows how to move very well through different sectors of the club.”

Speaking about Mirella Ramaciotti, José Augusto pushed back against questions related to the vice-presidential candidate’s family connection with Raul Corrêa, former vice-president and former financial director of Corinthians. Mendes defended his running mate’s independence and highlighted characteristics that, according to him, motivated the choice.

“As for Mirella, I think there is a lot of malicious talk about her connection to Raul Corrêa, who is her stepfather. In my opinion, it borders on sexism to believe that a woman with the intelligence, independence, and ideas of her own that she has would be influenced by anyone. Mirella has an excellent academic background, knows a lot about football, has independent thinking, and is extremely well connected outside the club, which will help us attract major contacts for our administration.”

Project envisions a division between corporate areas and club units

Another change defended by the pre-candidate involves the administrative structure. José Augusto proposes a matrix model, separating corporate functions from Corinthians’ different business units.

In this design, departments such as legal and finance would operate across the board, while football, Olympic sports, Parque São Jorge, and Neo Química Arena would each have specific leaders.

“We are going to build a matrix structure. On one side we will have the corporate functions, such as legal and finance, where I need professionals capable of handling the size of the challenge they will face. On the other side we will have the business units, with the idea of clearly separating Football, Olympic Sports, Parque São Jorge, and the Arena. Each of these fronts will have a manager focused specifically on that unit.”

The planning also includes the creation of two new areas aimed at Corinthians’ external relations.

“In addition, we want to create a Supporter Relations Department, to serve as a direct link between the administration and the fans, providing information and support to Corinthians supporters in and outside São Paulo. And also an Institutional Relations Department to work with the CBF and the São Paulo Football Federation, because I think Corinthians today is completely abandoned and lacks representation in that regard.”

Pre-candidate says he will remain in the race

José Augusto also ruled out, for now, withdrawing his candidacy to support another name. The council member acknowledged that talks and withdrawals may occur during the electoral process, but said he intends to carry his proposal through to the vote.

“I believe we will still have a lot of conversations among candidates who may eventually withdraw. I imagine we may reach the election with three or four candidacies, but that is only my expectation. As for me, I guarantee it: I will not withdraw. We will defend what we believe in and what needs to be done at the club. I hope that will be enough for us to be elected, without the need to make backroom deals or take on commitments that go against our principles.”

The final number of candidacies will still depend on formal registrations during the electoral process. At the moment, José Augusto Mendes, Sérgio Janikian, André Negão, Rozallah Santoro, and André Castro appear as the five publicly confirmed pre-candidates.

The vote is scheduled for November 28, at Parque São Jorge, and will define Corinthians’ administration for the 2027 to 2029 term.

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