Botafogo announces sale agreement with Crystal Palace partner

Entrepreneur John Textor, 56, a partner at Crystal Palace (ING), is very close to taking control of Botafogo. He and the club signed a contract that guarantees the North American priority in the purchase of the Carioca association.

At the beginning of the night, Botafogo confirmed the negotiation through a note and celebrated it as a milestone in alvinegra history. According to the text, the club must carry out the legal and legal procedures before formalizing the partnership with Eagle Holding, an American fund led by John Textor.

“A club of our greatness will have a partner of the highest level to invest and create the conditions that allow us to retake the leading role in Brazilian and world football,” stated Botafogo president Durcesio Mello in a statement.

Thus, Botafogo should leave the associative model and start operating as SAF (Sociedade Anônima do Futebol).

The deal was signed by Pedro Mesquita, head of investments at XP, on his social networks. Mesquita was the one who brokered the sale of the Cruzeiro to Ronaldo Nazário.

“I would like to congratulate Botafogo for signing an agreement with the group led by American John Textor! Another club that chose the path of professionalization,” Mesquita wrote on his Instagram account.

Like Cruzeiro, Botafogo has liabilities close to R$1 billion. The alvinegra team registered a deficit of BRL 139 million in 2020, according to its last balance sheet published in April of this year.

According to the GE portal, Textor should take out an immediate loan to make the club’s operation viable in the first half. However, there is no information regarding the value.

Textor, an executive in the media segment, holds 18% of Crystal Palace’s shares. He has also been interested in the acquisition of SAD (Sociedade Anônima de Desportos) from Benfica, in Portugal, but there was no agreement.

For Cruzeiro, former player Ronaldo will pay R$ 400 million and will control 90% of SAF shares. Of this amount, R$ 100 million will be used to reduce the most urgent debts, such as the transfer ban, applied by FIFA and which prevents the club from registering reinforcements.

The club-company model was created from a bill authored by the president of the Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco (DEM-MG), sanctioned by president Jair Bolsonaro (PL) in August.

Check out Botafogo’s note in full:

Botafogo announces the receipt and return of a non-binding offer from Eagle Holding, an American fund led by John Textor and with investments in clubs around the world, aiming at the constitution of a new corporate structure through a Football Anonymous Society (SAF). The counter-proposal presented by the Club was accepted and, as next steps, the necessary legal and legal procedures will be carried out before formalizing the new partnership.

President Durcesio Mello celebrated the current stage of negotiations, vibrating with the horizon that Botafogo will have ahead.

“It is with great satisfaction that we announce this historic milestone in Botafogo. A club of our greatness will have a partner of the highest level to invest and create the conditions that allow us to retake the leading role in Brazilian and world football. Now, we begin a second stage of the process. , equally important, before the formalization of the new legal constitution. I would like to thank everyone who committed themselves, in an executive and professional way, for this moment. Congratulations to the Alvinegro fan, who for years was by our side even in times of great difficulties, for the unconditional support and for believing in the professionalism of the management”, highlighted Durcesio.

“It took nine months of serious and professional work to reach the end of 2021 with Botafogo in Série A and now with an investor in SAF. I am very happy to be able to contribute to Glorioso. Merry Christmas and greetings from Alvinegra”, pointed out the CEO from Botafogo, Jorge Braga.