Botafogo has a R$267 million deficit and takes on debt to finance Textor

Since his arrival in 2022, North American John Textor has been accelerating investments and spending on Botafogo football. According to the balance sheet, there were R$252 million in hiring alone in the last two years. This does not include the recent acquisition of Luiz Henrique, which already occurred in 2024.

There was, indeed, an increase in Botafogo’s revenue under Textor’s management. The club raised R$388 million in 2023, which represents more than double the R$151 million in 2022. Income from player sales, sponsorship and Matchday (tickets and fan membership) improved. These are the results of professional initiatives by the SAF management and the good black and white campaign last season.

But the expenses were much higher. Activity costs (spending on football) reached R$412 million. There were also administrative and financial expenses. In total, the cost of Botafogo SAF reached R$656 million. Thus, R$267 million was missing to break even.

Alvinegro decided to join the Liga Forte União and sell 20% of its Brazilian TV rights for 50 years – valid from 2025. In practice, this is a postponement. The financial statement recorded the net value of the operation at R$165 million.

This amount did not all arrive in 2023. In total, the club received R$77 million from investors from Liga Forte União (LCP and GA). The remainder will be paid in two installments over the next few years.

Botafogo recorded this amount obtained from the sale as other operating income. But guidance from the Federal Accounting Council points out that the recording of Liga Forte’s money as revenue is wrong. Therefore, the blog disregarded the sale of rights as revenue in the deficit account.