Corinthians president Augusto Melo brought to light details about the controversial contract with VaideBet, a sports betting website. In a recent interview, he stated that he “washed his hands” after signing the agreement.
The contract was broken 52 days ago, raising suspicions of the use of an orange company in the negotiation. But, according to Melo, his participation was limited to negotiating the basis of the partnership, including the commission percentage for the intermediary involved.
“We closed everything in an office and then, that’s what I do, I hand it over to legal and compliance. We washed our hands and it’s left to the competent bodies. They analyzed both the sponsor and the intermediary and everything was approved “, he declared.
President of Corinthians says he handed everything over to the legal department
The club president stated that he followed the same procedure when negotiating with the new master sponsor, Esportes da Sorte. In other words, it signed a three-year contract worth R$309 million. Unlike the previous contract, this one had no intermediary.
However, the Civil Police is investigating the payment of a commission of R$25.2 million to Alex Cassundé, owner of Rede Social Media Design, accused of having passed on part of this amount to an fake company.
In testimony, Cassundé stated that he did not charge for the intermediary and that the amount was offered by the club, a version that Melo disputes: “That doesn’t exist. There is something wrong.”
The contract with VaideBet was announced as the biggest in the history of Brazilian football. But in May, journalist Juca Kfouri published on his UOL blog that Cassundé’s company transferred part of the commission received to an fake company.
From then on, the situation got complicated. But it got even worse when Augusto Melo, in an interview with journalist Benjamin Back, revealed that he personally negotiated a reduction in Cassundé’s commission, initially set at 20%, but which ended up being set at 7%.
How did Esportes da Sorte arrive?
Augusto Melo also commented on the arrival of the new sponsor, Esportes da Sorte. “The other sponsor [VaideBet] left us on a Friday, if I’m not mistaken, two days later, we had contact with another company”.
“We negotiated and I got everything right. Then, as I always do, I passed it on to the relevant departments, legal, marketing, finance and compliance. It’s always been like that, since the other sponsor.”
The Corinthians president stated that negotiations with the new partner were direct, without intermediaries, and highlighted the company’s competence in sports marketing. He also expressed confidence in the success of the new partnership, stating that Esportes da Sorte’s delivery model was a advantage.
Regarding the accusations involving VaideBet and the orange company, Melo emphasized that Corinthians is a victim and that it is cooperating with the investigations.
“Corinthians is a victim, from the beginning, I have always made myself available, I signed all the documentation in every way necessary. As president, what I want is to clarify as quickly as possible.”
The new partnership with Esportes da Sorte promises to bring financial stability and a new chapter for Corinthians, which is experiencing difficulties in the Brasileirão, while the VaideBet case still awaits an outcome.
