Casares becomes the 11th São Paulo president ever to step down | OneFootball

Julio Casares gave up. With the impeachment process having its opening approved by the Deliberative Council last week, the former tricolor leader could not withstand the pressure from the fans and the accusations against him that are being investigated by the Civil Police and Public Prosecutor's Office, and he did not want to face the general assembly of members: he announced his resignation late Wednesday afternoon (21) and officially left the Morumbi club.

The gesture brings Casares closer to Carlos Miguel Aidar, who also resigned from the presidency of the Tricolor in 2015 amid accusations related to his management.

In other words, in less than ten years, this is the second case of a president leaving the command of São Paulo with their name involved in corruption accusations. Institutionally, it is undeniably sad.

The sequence makes it seem like it's common for leaders to resign from their position at the Tricolor. But the truth is that the recent series of disastrous managements overshadow decades of competence.

In the last 79 years, they are the only presidents of the club to leave office in this manner.

In a more distant historical cut, in the early days of São Paulo's foundation, between 1935 and 1947, eight leaders resigned, with one of them doing so on two occasions.

The São Paulo statute provides for the possibility of ineligibility for up to ten years, but it does not link it to removal. Therefore, there were different interpretations about the consequences of Casares' fall. In the civil sphere, he is investigated by the MP-SP for reckless management, based on deficits exceeding 20% of gross revenue in 2021 and 2024. The General Sports Law also provides for impediments for leaders removed for reckless or fraudulent management, for a minimum period of ten years or while the effects of any judicial conviction last.

GLOOMY FUTURE FOR THE EX-PRESIDENT

Júlio Casares' resignation from the presidency of São Paulo occurs in the context of a set of investigations conducted by the Civil Police since the end of last year. The now ex-president is the target of inquiries related to cash withdrawals made from the club's accounts and financial transactions considered atypical by control bodies. The investigation is under the responsibility of delegate Tiago Fernando Correia, from the 3rd Division of Investigations into Crimes against Administration and Money Laundering (Dicca).

The delegate states there are "consistent indications that a supposed criminal association would be operating a sophisticated scheme of resource diversion and appropriation of funds." The Civil Police conducts the main investigation, while the Public Prosecutor's Office acts on two fronts: one focused on the alleged fund diversion scheme and another dedicated to investigating reckless management, focusing on the origin of São Paulo's billion-dollar debt.

Investigators are analyzing 35 cash withdrawals made between January 2021 and November 2025, totaling eleven million reais. The banks responsible for the accounts classified the operations as "atypical and incompatible with market practice for an entity of this size," highlighting the difficulty in ensuring the destination of the funds. The last 33 withdrawals occurred with the support of an armored car company, a method that, according to the police, makes it difficult to trace the money.

Meanwhile, investigators identified deposits in accounts linked to the leader's family. Between January 2023 and May 2025, there were deposits of R$ 1.5 million in cash in a joint account of Júlio and Mara Casares, the former executive's ex-wife. She held the position of director of women's, culture, and events at the club and took a leave of absence after accusations related to an illegal box office ticket sales scheme. The Coaf also mentions cash deposits in the account of Deborah de Melo Casares, their daughter. In one case, on November 22, 2024, Mara deposited R$ 49.5 thousand in cash, an amount below the automatic notification limit.

The reports also point to cash contributions made by Mara into an account of a company in which Deborah is a partner. The central point of the investigation is to verify if there is a connection between the withdrawals from São Paulo's accounts and the deposits in the leaders' accounts. Casares claims that the amounts are backed and that the accusations are based on "fragile versions."

(Tricolor Notes)

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