Casares on São Paulo politics: will Belmonte stay till term ends? | OneFootball

In recent months, the behind-the-scenes at São Paulo have heated up, especially due to the upcoming elections. In 2026, president Julio Casares will end his second term at the helm of the club, and the politics in the halls of Morumbi have been agitated by the issue of succession of power, among other topics.

Carlos Belmonte, the current director of football, is considered one of the natural names to succeed the tricolor leader. Casares, however, avoided going into details about the club’s political situation at this time. The current president explained that negotiations will only take place starting in March, denying any kind of political split behind the scenes and viewing “differences” as natural.

“In any corporation there are differences. The differences that occur along the way, first of all, help you have a refined opinion of the context. Everything that is put out there gets amplified in a way that’s very different from what it is. Difference doesn’t mean a split or an argument. It’s the opposite. It brings us great solidity among the professionals and collaborators of the institution. Our focus right now is to seek, to fight for a spot in the Libertadores, which is why all the political coordinators signed an agreement. We will discuss a succession starting in March to define it in June because, with that, you won’t contaminate the day-to-day of football, which is our main activity, with an electoral process,” said Casares.

“We have to focus on football and, more than that, plan for 2026. Politics has its own calendar and all collaborators signed this agreement, which gives us guarantees. Now, differences exist. You read issues in the media, and we know it’s quite different from what happens. Differences exist among family members, fans, and in a company. But what matters are the goals we will seek to achieve,” he continued.

Will Belmonte stay until the end of the administration?

A leaked message involving president Julio Casares and football executive Carlos Belmonte stirred São Paulo’s backstage in August of this year. The director was called “boca,” a shortened version of “boca de farofa,” a mocking nickname created by the fans for Belmonte. The message was sent by José Eduardo Martins, the club’s communications director.

According to reporting by Gazeta Esportiva, Belmonte was upset with the episode but preferred not to pursue the matter, understanding it to be an inappropriate joke, so as not to harm the club’s environment. The upper echelon at São Paulo, in turn, played down the situation. There are still, however, other points of disagreement between Casares and Belmonte, such as the Cotia FIP, for example.

Given the heated scenario in tricolor politics, Casares was then asked about Belmonte’s future at São Paulo. Earlier this month, there was a rumor that the football director had resigned, which did not materialize. The president, for his part, says he is satisfied with Belmonte’s performance, but avoided guaranteeing the professional’s stay until the end of the administration, in 2026.

“I’m from the world that knows how to work with disagreements. I was born at São Paulo amid extreme disagreements. Imagine, a president who came from the East Zone, who isn’t a relative, nor a nephew, nor a grandson of council members, becomes the club’s president. Imagine how many problems I had along the way… I don’t call it friendly fire, but interpretations. Because before friendly fire, maybe you fired at someone else. It’s part of a football club’s life. A football club has something different from a company. In football, you have emotion, you have fans. These characteristics exist in a club. Carlos Belmonte has been a director since the start of the administration. We went through eliminations against Água Santa, losing a title in the Sudamericana, then that comeback by Palmeiras, and nothing changed. Our administration has targeted changes. Now, in life, anything can happen. What prevails is good dialogue, looking each other in the eye,” he assessed.

Behind the scenes there is a consensus that the candidate in the elections supported by Julio Casares has a strong chance of being Marcio Carlomagno, the current general superintendent of São Paulo, the president’s right-hand man, but averse to the spotlight, avoiding public appearances. Belmonte, in turn, has an important base of council members that could influence the course of the presidential race.

“We had meetings yesterday to deal with other matters, we traveled together. Now, I can’t guarantee, suddenly, anything, because it depends on other variables. What I can guarantee is the reality of loyalty, conviction, and straight talk. That’s what I have with my executives. If Belmonte has been there for almost five years, losing or winning, it’s because the work continues. He leads an area that has Rui Costa, who is a professional, Muricy is the coordinator. This issue of disagreement, of dismissal… the day it has to happen I will have to do it, but there’s no reason for that. These issues come more from outside the walls than from inside,” concluded the president.

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