President of Palmeiras, Leila receives PIX from fans to hire striker

Leila Mejdalani Pereira, 57, officially assumed the presidency of Palmeiras this Wednesday (15) and says that, right away, she was startled when she started receiving money transfers in her bank account. In reading the inauguration minutes, the chairman of the deliberative council, Seraphin Del Grande, detailed the names and personal data of the members of the new board.

“Our fan is so wonderful, that just yesterday [após o vazamento do número de CPF] I started to receive Pix with requests for me to bring a center forward, they even sent suggestions and descriptions [do perfil do atleta]. There were hundreds of ‘Pix’, it’s unbelievable, I even thought it could be a hacker attack,” Leila said in his first interview as club president.

In a good mood, she said that the amount will revert to the club, but did not reveal the sum of the deposits.

In a process of reformulating the squad, the center forward Luiz Adriano should not continue with the club. Over the course of the season, he clashed with the crowd and lost the title to Abel Braga.

During the conversation, Leila guaranteed that Portuguese coach Abel Ferreira will continue for next year. She made a point of saying that, in the following season, “the greatest champion in Brazil”, “tri of the Libertadores” will fight for the “bi-World”.

“Abel remains, our bi-championed Libertadores coach stays in 2022 and with the possibility of renewing this contract,” said the president, who had a conversation with the coach this morning.

Abel had, on some occasions, shown his irritation with the format of Brazilian football.

The only candidate, the owner of Crefisa and FAM (Faculty of the Americas) was elected on the 20th. Of the 2,141 voters, Leila was chosen by 1,897 —244 voted blank. Its companies have sponsored the club since 2015, initially with an annual contribution of R$23 million.

The value has tripled over the years, at the same time, Palmeiras has achieved great results, such as Copa do Brasil, two Brazilian Nationals and two Libertadores.

In August of this year, Crefisa and FAM renewed their sponsorship with an investment of R$ 81 million per season.

Leila is the first woman to chair the club in 107 history. “Yes, I am very happy to take on a football club, such a sexist universe,” says the businesswoman, who did not hide her emotion at some point.

“A woman with the name Leila Pereira, I don’t have an Italian surname. The closest one is my husband, who is of Italian descent. This proves that Palmeiras belongs to everyone. I can never say that there was prejudice against me within the club, because I broke the record in my first councilor election.”

Leila’s term runs until the end of 2024, however, she anticipated that her plan is to seek election.

Leila stated, more than once, that Palmeiras will never become a club-company. This has been a hot topic between fans and opponents, who see the sponsor’s presence in the club’s main seat as a conflict of interest.

“Tell me where the problem is? You need to worry about who takes money from the club, not who puts it in. Another thing, if Palmeiras has a more advantageous proposal [em comparação com a Crefisa] I’ll be there at the door to close the contract,” he says.

“I even memorized the CBF code of ethics [Confederação Brasileira de Futebol] which does not say that there is a conflict of interest if the officer is a sponsor of the club.”

Leila, by the way, says that she will have to reconcile her personal commitments and the routine of a football hat.

She also ruled out that her companies must lend money to the club. There is a debt of R$ 161 million from the people of Palmeiras, according to the 2020 balance, due to loans made by the sponsor. The money had been used for hiring, and at first the company would recoup the investment by exploring the image of reinforcements and future sales.

However, fined by the Federal Revenue, Crefisa turned operations into loans, after a stroke from Mauricio Galiotte.

“These contracts were approved by the deliberative council. There is no conflict of interest. Any deliberation on the loans, the deliberative council will decide. Leila will not discuss anything, we will fulfill what is in the contract.”

Leila also pledged to “popularize” Palmeiras, strengthening the relationship between the fans and the team. There is, according to her, an inconvenience with the price of tickets and products of the club currently, values ​​that are impractical for the low-income population. Crefisa should continue sponsoring the Mancha Verde carnival parade, champion in 2019.

“We need to give access [ao torcedor] at games, buying a shirt. We are planning for this. We are going to carry out a series of actions in the São Paulo Championship, including sending a cart with all our trophies to cities in the interior of São Paulo”, says the businesswoman.

As a top hat, she intends to raise the banner of financial fair play. “It’s impossible for clubs to be in an excellent situation, and others that are broken. All of this reflects on the modality in general”, says the businesswoman, who promises a prudent management with a ceiling on spending at Palmeiras.

Asked about the women’s football at Palmeiras, for example, the owner of Crefisa says that it is necessary to make the sport viable by seeking new revenue and sponsorship.

Believing that he will have the affection of the fans, now, as president, Leila only frowned and ended with a short answer a single question, asked by Folha this Thursday. If she intends to reestablish the relationship with Paulo Nobre, the president who signed the partnership between Palmeiras and Crefisa. The relationship, however, fell apart after winning the 2016 Brazilian Championship.

“Paulo Nobre, I don’t have anything to talk about, talking about someone I haven’t had contact with for five and a half years,” says the palmeira.