Revealed: Moretti and Foster Gillett's multimillion San Lorenzo pre-deal | OneFootball

During his time as president of San Lorenzo, Marcelo Moretti negotiated a preliminary agreement with American businessman Foster Gillett, who had previously been linked to Estudiantes. According to documents revealed by the outlet Doble Amarilla, the magnate was planning an investment of 612 million dollars in exchange for a large portion of the club’s assets.

The 20-page document, signed and notarized, is dated November 6, 2024, and divided the financial injection into two stages. The first was intended to settle all liabilities (estimated at 40 million dollars) and to build a sports complex and a 55,000-seat stadium in Boedo. The second was aimed at strengthening the professional squad with 100 million dollars and guaranteeing nearly 10 million dollars in annual operating expenses.

In exchange for this influx of money, the institution would not formally become a Sports Joint-Stock Company, but it would have to undergo a due diligence process (an investigation commissioned by an investor to obtain information before carrying out an acquisition/corporate transaction). The club would have ceded income from player sales, the first team’s federative and economic rights, television rights, and the stadium land.

The initiative never materialized because it was never discussed at a Board of Directors meeting or at a meeting of the Ciclón Members’ Assembly. In addition, the text included a confidentiality clause requiring both parties to maintain absolute secrecy regarding everything that was signed, as well as a 45-day deadline for the club to accept or reject the agreement.

Throughout the document appear the names of Alejandro Uriel Barros, deputy secretary who eventually resigned from his position in September 2025, and Marcelo Moretti as representatives of San Lorenzo, and Guillermo Tofoni and Foster Lockhart Gillett as investors. In addition, Nazareno Navone acted as intermediary.

In November 2025, Martín Cigna submitted his resignation as secretary of the Boedo club and warned: “For some time now, there have been shady characters at San Lorenzo, whose true intentions you often do not know. It’s true (the approach with Gillett), and that was the biggest falling-out we had.”

Five months earlier, Matías Lammens, former Minister of Tourism and Sports, had confronted Moretti on WhatsApp in a message that was later leaked: “Stop stealing, you thieving son of a bitch. I mean it. And stop busting my balls with your lies. Chiqui (Tapia) told me you went to hand the club over to the Casa Rosada; history is going to judge you.”

Javier Milei’s national government has made its position in favor of allowing SADs into Argentine football clear. Amid that tense dispute with the AFA, Gillett’s name gained notoriety in the country after signing an agreement with Estudiantes de La Plata. After several back-and-forths, the American businessman granted the club a 9.7 million dollar loan.

In addition to the loan, Gillett also invested through players. First with Cristian Medina, for whom he triggered the 15 million dollar release clause in his contract with Boca, and then with Facundo Farías, a player for whom he paid 4,000,000 dollars. In any case, the relationship is currently on hold, as Juan Sebastián Verón himself revealed a few months ago. Meanwhile, the American magnate was also involved in a failed venture with Rampla Juniors of Uruguay.

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