New CEO vows to rebuild Atlético-MG’s credibility, eyes efficiency | OneFootball

Atlético-MG introduced Pedro Daniel as the new CEO of SAF this Wednesday, in the press room of Arena MRV.

Pedro was part of financial restructuring projects and strategic planning for clubs in the Série A of the Brazilian Championship. He also participated in the implementation of Financial Fair Play by the CBF in national football, the creation of the Profut Law (refinancing of tax debts), and the creation of the SAF Law.

  View this post on Instagram   A post shared by Clube Atlético Mineiro (@atletico)

“I am a professional in the football sector, specifically. I have been working in this industry for almost two decades, almost always providing consultancy, working with almost all the clubs in Série A, mainly. Several projects abroad, from investors entering Brazil, restructuring, strategic planning. I was the work leader of Financial Fair Play by the CBF,” he began.

“And I see Atlético here as having gigantic potential. That's why I'm here, I brought my family here, I lived in São Paulo, because I believe we can do something different. Once again, it's a pleasure to be here. I'm open for us to discuss and debate various points,” he concluded.

Eye on the Market

Pedro Daniel pointed out what Atlético-MG's stance should be in the next transfer window. The CEO emphasized the need for the management to be more precise in signings to avoid unnecessary spending.

“I think the big mantra we have here is efficiency. The investment was made last year. I think now we have a much more forward-looking vision, less about what was done or not done. We have an intelligence center, CIGA, they have unimaginable data, all the technology, knowledge, process. A surgical job is being done at this point. There's no point in saying we're going to the market to sign if we don't have a well-defined flow. So, for that reason, we are making this reformulation, but very much guided by CIGA, with data, integration of football (youth-professional), Paulo, Sampaoli, and Luiz,” he said.

“But we have to be more accurate. We will be more accurate because today we don't have a revenue of 2, 3 billion. Our margin of error is smaller. We are working very hard to reduce the number of errors. Errors will occur, but we need to minimize them as much as possible, otherwise, we won't be competitive,” he expanded.

Pedro Daniel also set a goal to regain Galo's credibility in the market.

“Perhaps this is point one, how to regain credibility, to be well-regarded by the market, and I speak in all scenarios: club-club, club-businessmen, club-athletes. For this, actions are necessary. There are basic principles, such as honoring commitments. There's nothing worse than being punished by the regulatory body for not complying with the rules of the competitions we participate in. This affects credibility in all scenarios. We are talking about a SAF, a football company, but all areas are connected. When we talk about football salaries, it affects our commercial area because when selling sponsorships, commercial properties, the client may not want to associate their brand,” he analyzed.

A Year Below Expectations for Galo

Rafael Menin, a shareholder of Galo, was also present at the presentation. He commented on the frustrating year for Atlético on the field and the financial situation the club is going through.

“I wanted to talk about this year that has come to an end in the sports calendar. It hasn't ended for those who are in the day-to-day, as there is a lot of work ahead. But it was indeed a year below what we expected. A more confusing year than the other five years in which we have been working on this challenging project, which is leading this institution, which is the most passionate and important in Minas Gerais. We do this with a lot of passion, with a great sense of responsibility,” stated Rafael.

“Everyone knows that we still have a balance, a delicate financial situation, which was improved after the SAF, and we have been working tirelessly throughout this year to make a new move, and part of this process, we advanced with the dilution clause of the association, because this was an obstacle for us to make a new move,” he completed.

Rafael Menin also thanked Bruno Muzzi, CEO between 2022 and 2025, and former football director Victor Bagy for their services. Both have left the club.

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