This Tuesday (16), lawyer Diego Fernandes officialized the creation of “São Paulo Day”, an initiative coordinated with businesspeople from Brazil and abroad that aims to attract new investments to the Morumbis club.
According to information from “ESPN”, the proposal seeks the engagement of the current tricolor leadership, inviting president Júlio Casares and the president of the Deliberative Council, Olter Ayres Jr., to make a joint effort to overcome the association’s current financial and institutional crisis.
The project foresees the future holding of a panel debate focused on recovering the credibility, governance and management of the team. Fernandes emphasized that the movement has no political bias: the intention is to contribute financially and technically, without the intention of assuming statutory or management positions.
The lawyer, who attends games with his family, reinforced that São Paulo needs to resume its historical avant-garde, declaring that “staying silent is not an option” given the warnings that the club’s history presents.
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When will São Paulo Day be?
In a video published this Tuesday (16), Diego Fernandes announced “São Paulo Day” for April 6, 2026. There is an expectation that the lawyer will present some proposal for a possible SAF, but nothing has been confirmed.
“In 1935, São Paulo stopped. On December 16th of that year, he had the courage to start over. Today, the challenge is different. But the responsibility is the same. This is not a political video. It’s not an advertisement. It’s not a promise. It is an invitation to serious debate about the future of São Paulo. The club belongs to its fans. And the future needs to be discussed maturely. São Paulo Back to the Future. A movement in favor of São Paulo Futebol Clube“, wrote Diego in the post.
Who is Diego Fernandes?
Diego Fernandes has experience in the financial market, working at the former São Paulo Stock Exchange (Bovespa), and currently holds the position of CEO of 08 Partners — a company that works as a banking correspondent. Despite his involvement in relevant sectors, he maintains a reserved and discreet profile, with little public information available about his professional career. He does not have well-known profiles on networks such as LinkedIn or the academic platform Lattes.
Behind the scenes, however, Fernandes is a constant presence in the hotels where the Brazilian team usually stays during FIFA Dates. Furthermore, he is known for being a great admirer of Formula 1.
Although he has no formal connection with sporting entities, the businessman is closely associated with influential names in football, including Brazilian managers and players. In 2014, he created the Panela FC project, which sought to allow fans to acquire shares of players’ economic rights, similar to the functioning of the stock market. The project, however, did not come to fruition.
During the negotiations involving coach Carlo Ancelotti, Fernandes counted on the collaboration of Spaniard Álvaro Costa — who has a good circulation in the football world, partly due to his experience as a former Nike employee, and also because of his family connection: he is the son of Pepe Costa, a well-known figure in Catalonia as he is considered a kind of “second father” of Lionel Messi.
