Moretti and Foster Gillett's multimillion pre-deal for San Lorenzo | OneFootball

During his time as president of San Lorenzo, Marcelo Moretti negotiated a preliminary agreement with American businessman Foster Gillet, who had previously been linked to Estudiantes. According to documents revealed by the website Doble Amarilla, the magnate planned to invest 612 million dollars in exchange for a large portion of the club’s assets.

The 20-page document, signed and notarized, is dated November 6, 2024, and divided the cash injection into two stages. The first was aimed at clearing all liabilities (estimated at 40 million dollars) and building a sports complex and a 55,000-seat stadium in Boedo. The second was tied to strengthening the professional squad with 100 million dollars and guaranteeing nearly 10 million dollars in annual operating expenses.

In exchange for this financial boost, the institution would not formally become a Sports Joint-Stock Company, but it would have to accept a due diligence stage (an investigation commissioned by an investor to obtain information before carrying out an acquisition/corporate transaction). The club would have ceded revenue from player sales, the first team’s registration and economic rights, television rights, and the stadium land.

The initiative was never finalized because it was never discussed at a Board of Directors meeting or at a meeting of the Cyclone’s Members’ Assembly. In addition, the text contained a confidentiality clause requiring both parties to maintain absolute secrecy regarding everything that was signed, as well as a 45-day validity period for the club to accept or reject the agreement.

Throughout the document, the names of Alejandro Uriel Barros, deputy secretary who ended up resigning from his position in September 2025, and Marcelo Moretti appear as representatives of San Lorenzo, while Guillermo Tofoni and Foster Lockhart Gillet appear as investors. In addition, Nazareno Navone acted as intermediary.

In November 2025, Martín Cigna submitted his resignation as secretary of the Boedo club and warned: “At San Lorenzo, there have long been shady characters, whose true intentions you often do not know. It’s true (the approach to Gillett), and that was the biggest falling-out we had.”

Five months earlier, Matías Lammens, former Minister of Tourism and Sports, had confronted Moretti on WhatsApp in a message that was later leaked: “Stop stealing, you motherfucking thief. I mean it. And stop busting my balls with your lies. Chiqui (Tapia) told me you went to hand the club over to the Casa Rosada. History will judge you.”

Javier Milei’s national government has made its stance in favor of allowing Sports Joint-Stock Companies into Argentine football clear. Amid that tense dispute with the AFA, Gillett’s name gained prominence in the country after he signed an agreement with Estudiantes de La Plata. After several twists and turns, the American businessman granted the club a 9.7 million dollar loan.

In addition to the loan, Gillett also invested in players. First, with Cristian Medina, for whom he triggered the 15 million dollar release clause in his contract with Boca, and then with Facundo Farías, a player for whom he paid 4,000,000 dollars. In any case, the relationship is currently on hold, as Juan Sebastián Verón himself revealed a few months ago. Meanwhile, the American magnate was also behind a failed venture at Uruguay’s Rampla Juniors.

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