Vasco da Gama's SAF sale hit the crossbar. Anserf, the watchdog created by the CBF (Brazil's football confederation) earlier this year to enforce financial fair play, opened a procedure to assess a possible conflict of interest in the deal that would put businessman Marcos Lamacchia in control of the Rio de Janeiro club, according to Folha de S.Paulo.
The hardest blow lands on the transfer market: the agency barred Vasco from any commercial ties with Palmeiras, including buying or selling players, and with Crefisa, the São Paulo club's sponsor. The reason is the family bond at the heart of the deal. Lamacchia is the stepson of Leila Pereira, Palmeiras' president, and the son of José Roberto Lamacchia, Crefisa's controlling shareholder.
In practice, the freeze works like a market quarantine. Any fan can grasp the scale of the problem: unable to trade players with Palmeiras, Vasco loses one of the richest negotiating partners in Brazilian football, and any signing moving between the two clubs stays frozen until the review ends.
A long line of buyers at the Cruz-Maltino
Vasco's SAF, the corporate structure Brazilian clubs adopt to attract outside investors, was approved in 2022 and sold that same year to the 777 Partners group, which took 90% of the shares. The conglomerate fell behind on scheduled payments and was pushed out of the operation. Since then, club president Pedrinho, a former Vasco player, has searched for a new investor. Lamacchia is negotiating the 90% stake for a figure that could reach R$ 3 billion, in talks circulating since late last year, Folha reports.
On Sunday (23), the businessman wore a Vasco shirt and posed next to Leila Pereira on the pitch at Palmeiras' stadium in São Paulo before the Brazilian league match between the two sides. The image sped up the criticism and, now, the regulator's response.
"The parties were notified to submit statements and comply with the required measures. Palmeiras, Almirante Participações e Empreendimentos S.A., Crefipar Participações e Empreendimentos S/A and Banco Crefisa S/A were notified as interested third parties, with the option to present their case," Anserf said in a statement.
Almirante is the company set up to structure Lamacchia's purchase of the SAF. The case runs under seal, with access restricted to the parties and their legal representatives, and public disclosure is limited to the existence of the procedure itself, the agency said.