Opinion – Rogério Gentile: Justice pledges BRL 84,000 from Corinthians for debt with lawyer

The São Paulo court pledged BRL 84,600 from Corinthians’ bank accounts. The decision was taken by judge Cláudio Pereira França in a lawsuit filed by agent Marcelo Robalinho.

In 2020, Corinthians committed to pay around BRL 500,000 in commission to Robalinho for the agency and negotiation intermediation with the player Jadson, who terminated his contract with the team that year. The athlete, who ended his career at the age of 38 in August, was Brazilian champion for Corinthians in 2015 and 2017.

As the team did not honor the agreement, the agent sued Corinthians in June 2021, charging R$ 666 thousand, an amount that was added to a fine for non-payment of the amount provided for in the cancellation.

Corinthians defended itself in court arguing that the payment had not been made because the agent had not issued the invoice provided for in the contract. He also said that, because of this, it made no sense to charge the fine.

He also stated that, due to the coronavirus pandemic and the consequent stoppage of football in the country, he faced “great financial obstacles”.

“Given the unequivocal unpredictability of the occurrence of the Covid-19 pandemic, which resulted in a large loss of revenue as a result of the stoppage of football activity, the penalties provided for in the signed term should not be applied”, he declared in the process.

The court ordered Corinthians to make the payment, including the agent’s attorneys’ fees. The case has already become final, that is, there is no further appeal.

The amount owed to the agent has already been paid. The attachment was determined by the judge because Corinthians did not pass on the lawyer’s fees.