Author: Vishwajit Sawant
In a surprising twist, Botafogo has decided to withdraw from the Brazilian Football League’s Libra consortium, according to the club’s owner SAF, American businessman John Textor.
In an exclusive interview, Textor clarified the reasons behind this decision and revealed his plans to sell Glorioso’s image broadcasting rights. The investor justified his departure from the group due to the protracted negotiations and disagreements between the clubs, which, according to him, were centered on historical disputes in which he had no involvement.
“I’m ready to conduct business, but a unified league can’t thrive amid ongoing disagreements between clubs. Most of these disagreements stem from historical issues for which I have no patience. When I see deadlines being set by the Libra group, I can’t let it go unnoticed, especially when it’s motivated by arguments and discussions from five years ago. I respect Brazil’s history, but I’m tired of waiting“, explained Textor.
Botafogo had joined Libra in May last year, but has now opted to break ties. Textor said that the club will not join Liga Forte Futebol, the other group negotiating the sale of Brazilian clubs’ rights. Instead, the plan is to sell Botafogo’s rights independently, taking a neutral position in the midst of the confrontation between Brazilian clubs, positioning itself more “in the center”.
“I’m waiting for something I shouldn’t be waiting for, which is income from the media and television. I can’t keep wasting money indefinitely while I wait. So I’m choosing a middle ground. I firmly believe that Libra does not have adequate governance for the league. I admire the Premier League model, where all clubs have representation on the board. I’m not just settling for a middle ground; I’m going to establish commercial agreements for Botafogo’s media rights that will benefit the club. This is an exemplary approach that I believe all clubs should adopt – an individualistic business strategy” said Textor.
Textor also praised the efforts of Flamengo’s president, Rodolfo Landim, considering him an important figure in the success of the Libra negotiations.
“Although I don’t appreciate Flamengo’s performance on the pitch, I have great respect for Rodolfo and his leadership. I believe he has done everything possible to unite the league, and it baffles me when people get angry with him and reminisce about issues from five years ago. It all makes no sense to me” said Textor.
Notably, Leila Pereira, president of Palmeiras, recently criticized Landim, expressing dissatisfaction with what she perceived as a centralized approach to decision-making within the group.