War declared! Pedrinho and Leila blast Bap over Vasco SAF threat

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Papo na Colina

·15 Juni 2026

War declared! Pedrinho and Leila blast Bap over Vasco SAF threat

The behind-the-scenes of the transfer market have turned into a true political and legal battleground in Brazilian football. The president of Flamengo, Luiz Eduardo Baptista, known as Bap, made controversial statements that set the national sports scene ablaze. The rival club’s chief stated categorically that he intends to take legal action if businessman Marcos Lamacchia, stepson of Leila Pereira, completes the financial operation of just over R$ 2 billion to acquire 90% of the shares of Vasco SAF. In the Flamengo executive’s view, the legal transaction constitutes a clear illegality because of the family ties involved.

“The problem is not that it’s with Leila’s stepson, even though the law says that a stepson is a family relationship and it cannot happen. The problem is being married to your wife and wanting to marry another. Under the civil code, you need to separate from the first one. You can’t have one foot in each club. It’s still family. She leaves the club she is at now and joins tomorrow. Or she waits until her term ends and next October joins Vasco. You can’t have a foot in two canoes, it’s against the law. It’s not Bap, or evil Flamengo, it’s the law. If they try to force this through, we’ll go to court again. Because the law is meant to be followed. For Rio football, having a strong Vasco is exceptional. Vasco is one of the biggest clubs in Brazil, it’s important for it to be in a better situation. It’s not legal,” Bap said controversially.

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Vasco president’s response and pressure over the Maracanã

The reaction against the rival executive’s stance was immediate and brought together the presidents of two of the country’s biggest institutions in strong public responses. The president of Vasco, Pedrinho, went on the attack and moved to shield the corporate transition process he is conducting with the investor from São Paulo. The former Vasco player vehemently denied any involvement by the Palmeiras president in the confidential talks and mocked the fear shown by his political adversary, signaling that the contractual procedures at São Januário comply with all the legal certainty requirements established by national law.

The Vasco chief was harsh in rejecting the insinuations and did not hold back in criticizing his behind-the-scenes rival.

“I don’t know whether Bap’s fixation on meddling in other people’s lives is some unresolved personal issue. Let me make it clear that president Leila has absolutely no involvement in the negotiations with the future investor, and Vasco has nothing to do with the fear Bap has of her. Could all this kicking and screaming be a smokescreen to cover up movements in the shadows behind the scenes? If so, let me warn you: it won’t work. The restoration of CBF’s credibility, which I believe is happening, will not be interrupted by pressure from those who are afraid. What is right will continue to be done,” Pedrinho shot back.

The Vasco president also took the opportunity to jab at the internal problems faced by the rival club’s chief, citing controversial issues involving the public concession of the Maracanã stadium.

“Instead of talking about what he doesn’t know and inventing conflicts where none exist, Bap should focus that energy on dealing with his own issues, such as the championship’s very same sponsor or the Maracanã bidding matter. Aren’t those cases for the courts? Vasco conducts nothing outside the law. Any operation will be submitted transparently to the proper authorities, and any questioning will be discussed through the appropriate channels, without a spectacle, as it should be. My commitment is to the legality of this operation. The new investor will soon be announced to the club’s governing bodies, the councilors, the members, and the fans, who are the ones this negotiation concerns. No one asked for Bap’s opinion,” fired the Vasco president.

Leila Pereira’s fury and threat of a lawsuit against rival

The president of Palmeiras, Leila Pereira, also showed immense dissatisfaction with the remarks and threatened to file criminal charges against the Rio-based executive if he continues making false accusations improperly involving her name. The businesswoman stressed that her administrative life is focused exclusively on the São Paulo club until December 2027 and lashed out at the claims raised on internet interview shows.

“First of all, who is Bap to say what I can or cannot do? It’s incredibly presumptuous for this individual to want to take care of my life. In fact, not only my life, but also my administration at Palmeiras. He is Flamengo’s president and should speak only about his own club. Could all this be fear of me? Fear of Palmeiras? This is unbelievable!” the São Paulo executive vented.

The two management teams involved in the Vasco SAF deal continue aligning the final clauses of the Memorandum of Understanding, ignoring the external noise created in the sports press. Investor Marcos Lamacchia, who is the son of Crefisa owner José Roberto Lamacchia, wants to make heavy investments exceeding the minimums required by law in order to raise the football team’s level of competitiveness in the short term. Pedrinho expects to present the signed contracts to Vasco’s Deliberative Council during the break in competitions due to the matches of the 2026 World Cup.

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