Sul-Americana exit ends São Paulo's prize-money dream, exposes void | OneFootball

Far beyond the pain of a home defeat and saying goodbye to the last chance of winning a title this season, the elimination from the Copa Sudamericana at Morumbi brings other reasons for regret for São Paulo, more precisely for its board.

The exit from the continental competition weighed heavily on the Tricolor’s already battered finances. The mapped-out financial loss lays bare the opportunity cost of falling by the wayside in the quarterfinals.

The math behind the financial loss breaks down as follows:

Immediate direct prize money: The club missed out on US$800,000 (about R$4.1 million) simply by failing to secure a place in the semifinal tie.

Lost ticket revenue: The absence of another decisive match at Morumbi means missing out on an estimated amount above the R$3.4 million earned in the quarterfinal game.

Prize-money ceiling: Instead of keeping alive the dream of reaching as much as US$12.775 million (approximately R$65.7 million) in total prize money in the event of winning the title, Tricolor’s run in the competition ends with a total of just US$1.975 million (R$10.2 million) accumulated so far.

Adding together Conmebol bonuses and stadium revenue, the toll of having rested starters in the Brasileirão ended up costing the club’s coffers dearly.

Hypothetically, however, the Harry Massis administration can at least take pride in having met the sporting target set for the season in the Sudamericana. The projection was to reach the quarterfinals. But that was all, since in the Campeonato Paulista and Copa do Brasil the team was knocked out prematurely, before the expected target (finalists and quarterfinals, respectively).

The only competition in which it is still alive this year, the Brasileirão, all signs suggest São Paulo will also fall short of what was planned. In the sporting targets set at the start of the year, the goal was to secure a place in the next edition of the Copa Libertadores, but the inconsistent campaign suggests São Paulo’s fight will really be only to avoid relegation.

Certainly, the Morumbi club’s on-field performances this year do nothing to improve its financial situation. As AVANTE MEU TRICOLOR has learned, the board was counting on Sudamericana prize money to help pay salaries and image rights, which have been overdue for months.

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