Leila Pinheiro to lead Vasco: journalists on Crefisa loan

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Papo na Colina

·3 October 2025

Leila Pinheiro to lead Vasco: journalists on Crefisa loan

The R$ 80 million loan operation between Crefisa and Vasco da Gama continues to be a hot topic. The show Posse de Bola on Canal UOL discussed this sophisticated financial engineering. According to the journalists present, the deal indicates Leila Pereira, president of Palmeiras, intends to become the “owner of Vasco” in the future.

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Juca Kfouri points out conflict of interest

The renowned journalist Juca Kfouri points out a clear conflict of interest, since Leila Pereira is still president of Palmeiras while her company invests in a rival club. “She won’t be able to continue as president of Palmeiras”, says the journalist, who sees the move as “very predictable” and notes that the businesswoman is also a Vasco supporter.

Kfouri’s thesis is that Crefisa is preparing its “exit from Palmeiras and entry into Vasco.” The R$ 80 million loan would be the main tool for this. The journalist states that the contract contains a clause allowing the loan amount to be deducted from a future purchase of Vasco’s SAF.

“She just made a R$ 80 million loan to Vasco. She won’t be able to continue as president of Palmeiras. She’s a Vasco supporter. She’s very predictable. She said she didn’t want to run for president of Palmeiras while she was making a deal with Mustafá Contursi to be able to run. She ended up running. She tried to change the bylaws to have a third term, couldn’t, and got upset. Now she’s preparing the exit from Palmeiras and the entry into Vasco with Crefisa.”

The journalist believes the businesswoman will publicly deny the intention, just as she did at other moments in her political career in football. Kfouri concludes:

“She might say there’s no conflict of interest, that Crefisa no longer sponsors Palmeiras, but she lends her plane to Vasco at no cost, her own plane. She does whatever she wants, but she does it. And she’s already made a R$ 80 million loan to Vasco, with a clause that this will be deducted from a future purchase she might make to set up a SAF at Vasco da Gama, taking the place of 777. In plain Portuguese: she won’t be president of Vasco, she’ll be the owner of Vasco. She won’t have any more problems with re-election bylaws. She denies it and will keep denying it until she becomes the owner of Vasco.”

The analysis, therefore, adds a new and complex layer of interpretation to the financial operation that could define the future of the Cruz-Maltino.

Danilo Lavieri and PVC keep stressing the conflict of interest

In Danilo Lavieri’s view, Leila Pereira’s relationship with Vasco is “highly conflicted.” He recalled other cases of conflict of interest between the executive and the Rio club, such as the cost-free loan of the businesswoman’s plane last year, reported by Anac. He said:

“Leila’s relationship with Vasco is highly conflicted. And it’s been conflicted for a long time, not just now. It’s a gigantic conflict of interest. Leila shouldn’t, while president of Palmeiras, allow her company to have relations with other clubs, because besides being clean, it has to look clean. And when you do something like this, you don’t look clean. Leila shouldn’t allow this kind of thing.”

Paulo Vinícius Coelho, known as PVC, on the show De Primeira, also on UOL, was categorical:

“The conflict is between Leila and Palmeiras. The conflict is between Leila and Palmeiras, and Leila will say there’s no conflict because Crefisa is no longer a sponsor of Palmeiras.”

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