Owing squad money, São Paulo pay ‘extra bonus’ after double win | OneFootball

São Paulo’s football department adopted a traditional practice from the sporting world to motivate and reward the squad in the Brasileirão.

The board paid extra cash bonuses to the players, popularly known as “bicho”, shortly after the wins over Bragantino and Atlético-MG, both at Morumbi, as first reported by Ge.com.

The payments were made on a one-off basis and were limited to the group of players in the locker room. The measure was intended to ease the pressure on the team, which had gone ten matches without a win in the national tournament and was nearing the relegation zone before putting together this positive run.

The amounts paid to the players were not disclosed; however, they are internally described as moderate sums. The board still owes the squad part of their image rights payments from the past few months and is working to settle the outstanding amount.

Who came up with the idea?

The proposal for the immediate bonus came from football executive Rafinha and was approved by president Harry Massis Jr. Despite the group’s positive reaction, São Paulo’s leadership has ruled out making the practice a regular one throughout the calendar because of the club’s budget limits.

The club’s financial model provides for structured bonuses tied to performance targets — such as advancing in the Copa do Brasil and the Copa Sudamericana, as well as the team’s final position in the Brasileirão table — with those payments made at the end of the tournaments.

Thus, the cash payments worked as an extraordinary incentive outside the cap established contractually. When he took over the executive role at the start of the year, Rafinha highlighted how commonplace the incentive is in football.

“I’ve received cash at São Paulo, Flamengo, Grêmio, and Coritiba. I got it at every club I played for. That’s part of football. It’s ‘bicho molhado,’” he said at the time.

Focus on the Copa Sudamericana

With six points added in the Brazilian Championship and the atmosphere eased by the recent wins, São Paulo’s squad has shifted its preparation toward the international stage.

São Paulo face Boca Juniors this Tuesday at 9:30 p.m. (Brasília time) at La Bombonera Stadium in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in the first leg of the Copa Sudamericana quarterfinals. The return leg is scheduled for the following Tuesday at Morumbi.

The squad already trained on Sunday (6), and this Monday (7) will hold its final session before flying to the neighboring country in the afternoon.

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