“Thinking with heart”: lawyer for 53 creditors seeks Vasco loan release

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Papo na Colina

·21 August 2026

“Thinking with heart”: lawyer for 53 creditors seeks Vasco loan release

The freezing of the new DIP (Debtor-in-Possession) loan worth R$ 150 million does not only affect Vasco's ability to sign reinforcements for the football team. Behind the scenes at São Januário, the judicial restriction imposed by Judge Simone Gastesi Chevrand has raised concerns about the risk of disruption in the payment of employee salaries and, fundamentally, in the continuation of the installment schedule under the Judicial Recovery.

In an interview with ge, lawyer Henrique Fragoso, who represents 53 creditors and holds the largest number of individual taxpayers within the Cruz-Maltino restructuring framework, criticized the instability caused by the successive obstacles in the process:

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“It causes insecurity. It seems that every two months something happens in Vasco’s judicial recovery that brings everything to a halt and makes us feel insecure. News stories come out, and I created a WhatsApp group to update the creditors. It creates discomfort for most of the creditors who approved the Judicial Recovery. This loan is extremely important for the payment and continuation of everything. I am also the lawyer for the club workers’ union, I represent those who are there. These people are also insecure about receiving their salaries on time.”

In an attempt to reverse the freeze, Vasco’s board filed an appeal with the Rio de Janeiro Court of Justice against the decision that limited new debt above R$ 5.9 million until a preliminary audit is submitted. The club warns that it needs R$ 83 million by August 31 to settle immediate obligations. The creditors’ lawyer highlighted the concern over the due dates of the next agreed installments:

“This issue of having a new decision at every moment takes away the sense of security that had been approved. In Vasco’s very recent past, the club went through problems. Just when we start to think things are going to move forward, this decision comes. The loan is something that will change absolutely nothing in the course of the process. The loan is already authorized in the recovery plan by the creditors, it is already included there. Next month the installment payments begin — will there be money next month to meet the obligations of the recovery?” + Legal offensive: Vasco files a 47-page appeal to release the loan and unblock reinforcements Human impact at Vasco and an appeal to the courts

Henrique Fragoso pointed out that legal debates often disregard the direct impact on the daily lives of the institution’s most modest workers, calling for empathy from oversight bodies:

“I hope I’m not caught by surprise in 15 or 20 days. Until then, I hope everything will be resolved. The information we have is that this will be very important money for the club’s maintenance. I hope Vasco, or the judge herself, is sensitive to the situation. People focus a lot on the issue of signings. I look beyond that. I think about the general services assistant who works there, the kit man who earns 2,000 or 3,000 reais… If that person’s salary is delayed, it has a major impact. Vasco needs this money.”

“The Judiciary and the Public Prosecutor’s Office itself need to understand that sometimes it is not just a legal issue. There is something behind it — families who depend on this. We have to think about this human side. Think with the heart instead of the pen. It is not just one person. There are 400 former employees, some suppliers, and 300 or 400 employees who need a solution.”

?Political maneuvering behind the scenes and defense of the agreement

When analyzing the history of the plan’s approval at the General Assembly and the negotiations that reduced the haircuts for amounts of up to R$ 5 million, the lawyer detailed the relationship with the club and addressed the impact of external and political pressure behind the scenes:

“It was discussed extensively. When the Judicial Recovery process began, we were called because we were part of the creditors’ committee of the RCE that existed in the Labor Court. They asked how we were feeling. The first feeling was somewhat negative, with the 92% haircut, but we managed to negotiate amounts up to R$ 5 million with no haircut. We got to the Assembly and everything was approved.”

“In football, everything has politics behind it. Football is passion and heart. If you are getting in the way of an institution or a political agenda within the institution, that carries a lot of influence. Most clubs today go through some kind of difficulty because of more internal than external issues — I joke that it’s friendly fire.”

“This is a moment of concern about whether the judicial recovery and the commitments we honored there at the Creditors’ Assembly will be fulfilled. You need this amount to comply with what is already underway.”