Massis gives up corporate card, brings austerity policy to São Paulo | OneFootball

President of São Paulo, Harry Massis has waived the use of the club's corporate card during his administration, which ends at the end of this year. The benefit is offered to the presidency, but the leader decided not to use the corporate card as part of an austerity policy that has been adopted since he took office.

Another benefit Massis would be entitled to is the health plan offered to the club's professionals, but Massis also chose not to use it, according to Gazeta Esportiva's investigation.

Both decisions were made directly by Massis, who sees the need to be part of the process of saving São Paulo's finances. In addition, the decision not to use the corporate card also stems from the president's desire to consolidate the anti-corruption policy at Tricolor. More recently, the club has strengthened its compliance policy.

Harry Massis, president of São Paulo (Photo: Thais Bueno/Gazeta Press)

The São Paulo corporate card, it should be remembered, recently caused controversy. An investigation by the São Paulo Fiscal Council, reported by ge, indicated that former president Julio Casares allegedly used around R$ 500,000 of the club's corporate card for personal expenses.

Although the amounts were returned with monetary correction in the second half of 2025, the case generated strong internal friction and criticism from councilors. Casares, it should be noted, resigned from the presidency of São Paulo in January this year.

Austerity Policy

In just over a month of management, Massis decided to adopt a financial austerity policy. The new administration diagnosed some of the club's main difficulties and chose to prioritize football-related demands, seeking agreements to settle financial issues with the team and strengthening ties with the professional squad.

The new president also established the review of commercial contracts made in previous administrations. Recently, São Paulo unilaterally terminated its contract with the company FGOAL, which supplied food and beverages to the club, after identifying discounts in transfers made by the company.

According to the report, more news on terminations is expected to be announced soon, as the review of contracts from previous administrations progresses.

Changes Generated Million Savings

The changes implemented by Massis in the board and social framework of the club at the beginning of his administration at São Paulo generated savings of R$ 4 million, according to Tricolor's estimate.

The first dismissals came hours after Julio Casares' resignation. Marcio Carlomagno, who held the position of general superintendent and was an ally of the former president, was dismissed. The same happened with Antônio Donizete Gonçalves, known as Dedé, who reached an agreement to leave the club's social board.

Finally, other names who left the club were José Eduardo Martins (communications director) and Christina Massis, daughter of the current president, who held a position in the women's board of São Paulo.

'Economic' Carnival

São Paulo also cut costs with the social club's Carnival. There was a 90% reduction in the loss caused by the traditional party promoted by Tricolor. In the 2025 Carnival, for example, the total expenses amounted to R$ 331,000.

According to Gazeta Esportiva's investigation, the expected expenses for this year's Carnival party totaled around R$ 300,000. With the cuts promoted by Massis' administration, costs were reduced to R$ 30,000, representing a 90% decrease from the initially planned expenditure.

Zero Tolerance for Corruption

Massis also adopted a zero-tolerance policy for corruption cases at São Paulo. His daughter's name, Christina Massis, was mentioned in allegations of an illegal ticket sales scheme for box seats at Morumbis, the Tricolor stadium.

Even though it involves his daughter, the president promised to deepen the investigations into the case. “There will be an investigation. I myself accepted it, I myself initiated it. There will be an investigation,” he said. 

Focus on Football

Harry Massis' main focus at the start of his administration has been football. Internally, players were upset with the constant delays in image rights payments. Some even had rights delayed by up to three months. The new president then promoted an agreement to settle the debts, splitting the pending amounts into ten installments and promising to end this modus operandi.

Reducing the number of people in charge of football was also treated as a priority by the president. Rui Costa, São Paulo's football executive, gained strength internally. After Muricy Ramalho's departure, Rafinha was hired for the role of sports manager. Both have been key figures behind the scenes at the club.

Massis, it should be noted, completed a month in charge of São Paulo on February 16th.

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