Prince Harry in the spotlight: São Paulo club pulls Casares tribute | OneFootball

The São Paulo club members were surprised this week by another action from the current president, Harry Massis Júnior, who is indeed rolling up his sleeves to at least restore the prestige of the Tricolor.

In a week where the new management took another step towards cleaning up the club after the disastrous administration of Julio Casares, who is under investigation by the Civil Police and State Public Ministry for corruption, the image of the former president is being erased.

Massis and his new social director, Toninho Paiva, removed the plaque that named the club's food court after Casares, an absurd tribute that was spearheaded by the former official, Antônio Donizeti, known as Dedé.

Removing Casares' name from the space was a long-standing demand from the ex-president's opposition, who now form part of the new management.

As is known, two well-known figures who played a crucial role in the departure of the former president are expected to occupy top-tier positions in Massis' administration: Caio Forjaz is set to take the position of legal advisor, while Miguel Souza will be the deputy social director.

Forjaz, who had a strong voice in Casares' impeachment process, became the main orchestrator of the groups opposing the former president with Massis after his inauguration.

The plaque honoring Casares by naming the food court was removed (Reproduction)

A week ago, the lawyer councilor leaked one of the meetings he had with the current president through a social media post. “In five days, he did more than the other. He removed the CEO and will end the political stronghold in the social sector,” praised Forjaz.

Some prominent figures in the opposition, such as Flávio Marques, are also expected to be invited to take positions in the club.

Almost a month into the club's top position, Massis has been implementing structural changes at São Paulo in small doses. So far, he has sealed the departure of four directors. However, the complete list is expected to contain more than ten names.

As the report found, Massis ruled out promoting a 'revolution', partly to avoid disrupting the club's operations (especially the finances). Therefore, the idea is to gradually cut names linked to Casares, weekly.

Other suggestions from the opposition, such as the dismissal of football executive Rui Costa, were dismissed by the new president.

Regarding arrivals, one is confirmed. Toninho Paiva replaced Dedé, who confirmed his departure hours after Casares' resignation letter was published on social media.

For the position of Márcio Carlomagno, whose dismissal was also announced after Casares' resignation, Massis plans to invite Luiz Cunha.

He is not an unknown name. The successful businessman currently living in Rio de Janeiro (RJ) has already held executive positions at São Paulo. With Carlos Miguel Aidar, he was the director of the youth academy and club departments. With Carlos Augusto Barros e Silva, known as Leco, he reached professional football, where he had already been an assistant during the administrations of Marcelo Portugal Gouvêa and Juvenal Juvêncio.

Despite being highly praised by the then president, Cunha lasted just over five months in the position. He clashed with the then executive Gustavo Sampaio, accusing him of reporting directly to Leco. The final straw was the signing of the Peruvian player Cueva, made by Sampaio without his consent and backed by the president.

Out of São Paulo's politics since then, Cunha is seen as a name capable of pleasing 'Greeks and Trojans' and at least managing to calm and shield football from politics and the upcoming electoral process. This is partly due to his participation in various club administrations and political groups.

Massis himself is an example of this. In 2016, the current president was an opponent of Leco, and his political group at the time released a manifesto supporting Cunha and opposing the signing of Cueva.

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