Flamengo president Bap slams Botafogo's attitude

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·23 aprile 2026

Flamengo president Bap slams Botafogo's attitude

Luiz Eduardo Baptista, known as Bap, reacted to Botafogo’s judicial recovery filing

In recent days, Botafogo’s Football Corporation (SAF) filed for judicial recovery. Asked about the matter at an event this Thursday (23), Flamengo president Luiz Eduardo Baptista, known as Bap, blasted the move made by the rival club.

— I understand that the SAF model in Brazil needs to be revised. In this specific case (Botafogo), when this SAF was created, the debt was around 700 million reais, if I’m not mistaken. Today, from what we read, the debt is three and a half times that amount. And then you ask for judicial recovery, which includes the first part of the debt that, in theory, you came in as the solution to cover. You didn’t cover the old debt and added another 1 billion and change in debt, and now you have a single restructuring package —, Bap began.

— We have to learn from this. SAF is an important mechanism, but it must have limits and obligations. You can’t simply give credit to someone who says they will invest money in the club, fulfills nothing, and gets away with it. There are cases that are doing well, like Red Bull and Bahia, which honor their commitments. This example (Botafogo) is not what should represent the majority. But we have to understand that money that comes in to help and meet commitments is welcome; what doesn’t do that must be punished severely. We cannot create mechanisms that allow this kind of situation —, added the Flamengo president during the Brazilian Club Committee event.

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SO, WHAT IS THE REQUEST MADE BY BOTAFOGO?

Botafogo is going through a dramatic financial situation, with debt totaling R$ 2.753 billion. Of this amount, R$ 1.643 billion is short-term debt (that is: to be paid within 12 months). Therefore, judicial recovery is a way to organize a “pool” of civil and labor debts while the company (in this case, the SAF) remains protected from enforcement actions (asset seizures) or freezes stemming from those same debts

“SAF Botafogo filed, this Wednesday (22), with the Rio de Janeiro Court of Justice (TJ-RJ), a request for Judicial Recovery, as a strategic move for financial reorganization and course correction for the continuity and strengthening of the sports project launched in 2022. As part of the request, the SAF also asked for the temporary suspension of the voting rights of the majority shareholder, who for several months has used that position to block the arrival of new capital into the football club,” the club said on Wednesday (22).

WHAT DID BAP DO AT THIS EVENT, AFTER ALL?

As an invited guest, Luiz Eduardo Baptista took part in the Brazilian Club Committee and gave a speech against the taxation of non-profit associations in comparison precisely to Football Corporations. In short, Flamengo is one of the leaders of this movement, as it believes SAFs have an advantage when it comes to how these amounts are charged.

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