Corinthians finished the 2024 season with a record of nine consecutive victories in the Brazilian Championship and an unlikely qualification for the 2025 Copa Libertadores, after having spent much of Nacional fighting against relegation.
The arrival of reinforcements in the middle of the year, mainly the acquisition of Dutchman Memphis Depay, gave a new face to the team and hope to fans that it is once again possible to fight for titles — the last trophy added to the club’s gallery was that of the Paulista 2019.
The good expectations regarding the team’s future on the field, however, contrast with the delicate situation of Corinthians president, Augusto Melo, the target of an impeachment process that should be resumed in the first weeks of 2025.
The request for the director’s removal came at the end of August, as a result of investigations by the Civil Police and the club’s Council, both of which have not yet been concluded, regarding the payment of R$ 25 million to Rede Social Media Design as an intermediation commission for the agreement with VaideBet. The Social Media Design Network belongs to Alex Fernando André, known as Alex Cassundé, who worked on Augusto’s campaign.
Part of the money was transferred to Neoway Soluções Integradas em Serviços, registered in the name of Edna Oliveira dos Santos, identified as orange. To support the impeachment process, the signatories of the document claim that Augusto Melo, by action or omission, allowed “the image of the institution to be thrown into a quagmire of degrading news”.
“Corinthians is a victim”, said Augusto, in July, in an interview with Sheet. “From the beginning, I have always made myself available. As president, what I want is to clarify as quickly as possible, especially because Corinthians is a victim. From the moment you have an intermediary who does something, from then on other than what he does is his problem.”
The top hat is also the target of another removal process, for allegedly violating the General Sports Law. In this case, Cori – a supervisory body made up of former presidents and life members – argues that audited balance sheets and other documents that should have been submitted were not presented.
On December 2, the Deliberative Council met at Parque São Jorge to vote on impeachment, but the meeting called by the president of the body, Romeu Tuma Júnior, Melo’s opponent, was suspended after the club’s representative obtained a favorable decision in court. to stop the process.
The injunction obtained by Augusto, however, ended up overturned by the TJ-SP (São Paulo Court of Justice) on the 12th. With this, Romeu Tuma can now schedule a new vote, which should take place in January.
In contact with the report, the president of the Council stated that he can organize a virtual meeting. His argument is that this can prevent counselors from being threatened. Furthermore, at the beginning of the year, many will be traveling.
In the first attempt to vote on impeachment, a strong security scheme was called in by Tuma to protect Parque São Jorge. Around 480 police officers were present at the time.
When the meeting was suspended, Augusto Melo celebrated with the fans present in front of the club’s headquarters, especially the members of the organized fans, who are against the top hat’s removal.
During the meeting, they shouted “there will be no coup” and chanted “if the impeachment is approved, hello, hello, hello, the stick will break”.
The support of those organized, especially Gaviões da Fiel, the club’s biggest fan base, has been essential for Melo to remain in his position. In less than a year, the top hat lost much of his political capital in Parque São Jorge.
The political crisis originated with the departure of Rubens Gomes, known as Rubão, who became known at the beginning of the current administration by the phrase “the party is over”, in reference to the club’s rivals. A lifelong advisor, he was working as football director when he clashed with Augusto Melo for questioning the president about the payment of commission in the contract with VaideBet.
His departure from the board started a stampede, with the departure of names that held important positions, such as the financial, legal and marketing directors, all nominated by slates that supported Augusto’s candidacy. Melo defeated André Negão, candidate of the then situation, led by former president Andrés Sanchez, now part of the aggressive opposition.
“Maybe I had a bit of a lack of experience, trusting people who had the capacity. But we are all human and are subject to making mistakes, thank God we learned a lot”, analyzed Augusto, last Saturday (21), in an interview with TV Corinthians.
“We can’t have a plan, this needs to change statutorily. The president, once elected, must have an active voice and immediate transition. One month to do this and take over a club like Corinthians is very little”, added the top hat.
It was the second time that Melo ran for office. In 2020, he lost the election to Duilio Monteiro Alves, the last representative of the Renovação e Transparência group, who spent 16 years in power, responsible for a large part of the debt that plagues the black and white association, currently estimated at R$2.4 billion — value that includes financing the club’s arena, in Itaquera.
Corinthians expects to end 2024 with R$237.8 million in the red. The deficit is stated in a document sent to the club’s advisors. In the budget for the current season, the club expected to close the calendar with a surplus of R$17.5 million.
The delicate financial situation puts more pressure on Augusto Melo, who, in addition to seeking solutions to the problem, needs, perhaps even more urgently, to work to maintain his position as president.
