By Andrea Hargraves 
José Pedro Pereira da Costa, FC Porto's new CFO, presented a comprehensive approach to the club's balance sheet on JE Entrvista, highlighting obvious mistakes and what can be changed through tough and creative management. The interview was originally published on April 15.
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Positive justice only through accounting creativity – “which UEFA does not recognize” – the expenses incurred by those living beyond their means and the overall management of the club’s most important assets is not only inefficient, but also depicts an aberration that must be stopped. as soon as possible. José Pedro Pereira da Costa Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for the candidacy of the “rebellious” Andre Villas-Boas for the FC Porto elections – which will take place on April 27 – is highly critical of the way SAD is managing the club – which he mentioned in the podcast “ “JE Entrvista” loses in all areas to direct competition: Benfica and Sporting .
Both in terms of the management of player passes – which are not properly taken into account as assets that cannot be reduced in value (let alone go to zero) – as well as ticket sales and more trivial things. PromotionEverything, from Pereira da Costa's point of view, can be improved. Moreover: it must be improved, otherwise the club will be pushed to the margins of irrelevance as an institution.
He added, “The economic and financial situation is worrying.” He added: “There is an economic problem because the club was unable to achieve revenues that cover costs in a sustainable manner.” By isolating the operating deficit as a factor that “erodes” the club’s financial health, the roster proposal of which it is a part is precisely a radical change to everything that comes on the downside of the balance sheet.
As expected, the “election campaign” has left the economic issues subject to the more specific discussion of the “sentiment” surrounding the club – which has turned the last few weeks into a barrage of accusations between the candidates – there are two more but it seems that they will “die” anonymously.
For André Villas-Boas, the reason for his candidacy, as he said in the presentation of the proposal, has mainly to do with “aging” stimulated by decades of a presidency centered around the same person, Jorge Nuno Pinto da Costa. The “new blood” that former coach Villas-Boas wants to use in a deep blood transfusion has made its way to the city – and is easily spotted in cafes, in metro stations or on park benches.
Born into a conservative family, André Villas-Boas grew up among financial reports: his father, Felipe Villas-Boas, is a shareholder in a metal manufacturing company and a regular presence in the field of business associations (AFIA and AIMMAP). Thus, economic and financial issues are no stranger to him – contrary to what one might think given his status as a former coach.
However, the selection of José Pedro Pereira da Costa as CFO is under the assumption that the club's finances are a mainstay that needs to be strengthened. Pereira da Costa has been CEO of NOS for the past 10 years, responsible for the financial area. Previously, he was CFO at PT, between 2003 and 2007, and then at ZON, the company that later led to the creation of NOS.
From the beginning, the economist complained of too much ambiguity on the part of the rival candidate. Not because of what is written on the balance sheet, but precisely because what is written shows that something is not right. And there is a risk of continuing this way: Pereira da Costa says that the proposals for the club's financial growth presented by Pinto da Costa's candidacy all follow the same pattern: an absolute lack of information. He said that this is what we see when “opponents” talk about the new company to be created with a foreign partner (Porto Comercial II) or the plan to build a new FCPorto academy complex (education and training center) “which no one seems to know for sure how much it will cost.” “.
In the midst of the media controversy, it became known that Pinto da Costa's counterpart in the nomination – former minister and ex-mayor of Porto Fernando Gomez – would not move to the new squad. Punishment for some bad service? It doesn't matter, in Pereira Costa's view. Which ends with a warning to the navigation: the project – to restore revenues and reduce costs – must be kept within a strict national logic (“If not, it means we have failed”) and will be implemented within six years.