Still amid the controversy that ended with the termination of the contract with Vai de Bet, Corinthians president Augusto Melo gave an interview to Folha. In it, he stated that he “washed his hands” after the agreement was terminated and that the matter is still under investigation.
In his conversation with Folha, the president of Timão highlighted the new contract, signed last week with Esportes da Sorte, and that there were no intermediaries in the negotiation, which resulted in a partnership worth R$309 million (US$ 55m) for the club.
According to Melo, since the end of the previous contract, the club has been approached by other bookmakers, and in the last 20 days before signing with Esportes da Sorte, there were numerous meetings to make sure everything was clear.
“Since the other sponsor left us, we have been in contact with another company. We negotiated, I agreed on everything and, as I always do, I passed it on to the competent legal, marketing, financial and compliance departments. It has always been like this, since the other sponsor. Then, there were reservations and it was up to me to decide. So, 'no, right?',” stated Melo, suggesting that another sponsor was rejected by Corinthians.
“After Esportes da Sorte showed up, they also approached us. They said they wanted to negotiate directly with the president. I thought it was great. It was their [negotiation proposal]. Then the negotiations began, we negotiated everything and I agreed with them. We negotiated for 20 days and there was no intermediary.”
The Corinthians director was very excited about the partnership with Esportes da Sorte to be the club's master sponsor until the end of 2026 and what made the difference: “their delivery model. Their marketing is very good. I have no doubt that this partnership will work out,” concludes the president of Corinthians.
Source: GMB / Folha
