São Paulo close to sealing shirt sponsorship deal with Unimed | OneFootball

São Paulo is close to finalizing a deal with Unimed to become its new shirt sponsor for the remainder of the season.

The terms of the agreement, as well as the amounts involved, are still being kept confidential, but the health plan provider would replace a market competitor, Blue, in the currently vacant space on the back hem of the shirt.

The space has been vacant since September of last year, when São Paulo ended its contract with Blue Saúde early and terminated its sponsorship on the back hem of its shirt. As reported by AVANTE MEU TRICOLOR at the time, the outcome was reached by mutual agreement between the parties, according to the club.

However, it seems that this agreement wasn’t so amicable after all. The health plan management company accuses Tricolor of breaching the contract and disputes the club’s claim of R$ 6.2 million for five months of unpaid fees by Blue, in a lawsuit already initiated by São Paulo.

The agreement, signed in the middle of last year, was set to last until the end of December. In principle, it would bring around R$ 17 million in total to the club’s coffers. It was in May 2025 that Blue stopped paying its debts to São Paulo.

Also according to the portal, not even representatives of Blue Saúde deny the fact. They claim the interruption was due to “financial and operational issues, directly related to the environment of contractual instability and the commercial pressures imposed, which impacted the regular flow of obligations.” All this still under the management of then-president Julio Casares.

During the partnership period, Blue carried out activations with the Membership Program, health and wellness campaigns, and had significant exposure on digital media and advertising boards at Morumbi, mainly.

Upon the termination, São Paulo limited itself to “thanking the company’s ethical conduct and values, as well as its contribution to the project of strengthening the club’s brand.”

As AVANTE MEU TRICOLOR found out, Tricolor’s goal was to find a new commercial partner to fill the spot on the uniform and increase its revenue. The understanding was that there was no need to rush for a new sponsor.

The company claimed that São Paulo only notified it of the contract termination on September 17, and, according to the contract, should have given 15 days for it to resolve the issues and pay the overdue amounts, but suspended the display of its former sponsor on the Tricolor shirt the very next day. Thus, Blue believes the debts would no longer be valid.

The club’s claim against the company is pending in the São Paulo Court of Justice, with no scheduled date for a decision yet.

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