(FOLHAPRESS) - Palmeiras and Flamengo have become the two main forces in Brazilian football in recent years, with serial achievements at state, national and continental levels, based on star-studded and expensive squads.
With high salaries, Palmeiras and Flamengo suffer deficits in the 1st semester
(FOLHAPRESS) - Palmeiras and Flamengo have become the two main forces in Brazilian football in recent years, with serial achievements at state, national and continental levels, based on star-studded and expensive squads. According to data...
Cruzeiro is third, with a squad valued at EUR 167 million (R$ 995 million). The high figures involved in maintaining the main athletes and bringing in reinforcements, however, took their toll in the first half of 2026, when the pair recorded a deficit.
- The case of Palmeiras is the one that seems to require the most attention, as the Palestine club alone accumulated expenses exceeding revenues by R$124.1 million between January and June.
- In the semester, professional football alone recorded a deficit of approximately R$150 million, a result that reflects revenues of R$410 million and expenses of R$560 million.
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According to data from the specialized website Transfermarkt, Alviverde has the most valuable squad in the country, valued at around EUR 232.5 million (R$ 1.4 billion), followed by Red-Negro, with EUR 218 million (R$ 1.3 billion). Cruzeiro is third, with a squad valued at EUR 167 million (R$ 995 million).
The high figures involved in maintaining the main athletes and bringing in reinforcements, however, took their toll in the first half of 2026, when the pair recorded a deficit.
The case of Palmeiras is the one that seems to require the most attention, as the Palestine club alone accumulated expenses exceeding revenues by R$124.1 million between January and June.
In the semester, professional football alone recorded a deficit of approximately R$150 million, a result that reflects revenues of R$410 million and expenses of R$560 million.
The biggest expense is precisely in the “personnel and social charges” line, which reached R$196 million.
Next appear “amortization, player rights”, an accounting expense that the club recognizes over the years of the contract for the acquisition of an athlete, worth R$154 million, and “expenses with image rights”, which reached R$71.2 million.
“Salary costs are completely unrealistic,” said Amir Somoggi, director of consultancy Sports Value.
The club had revenues well below what it had budgeted for the period, R$540 million, compared to R$720 million forecast, while costs “remain sky high”, said Somoggi.
When contacted, Palmeiras said it would not comment. The club's management had already signaled that it would prioritize the maintenance of athletes considered essential, capable of bringing the team closer to new achievements on the field.
“There was a forecast of earning R$200 million from the sale of player rights, and the club closed with just R$50 million in the period”, said Fernando Trevisan, specialist in sports management and marketing and general director of Trevisan Escola de Negócios.
One of the most coveted names by European clubs is Argentine striker Flaco López, runner-up in the World Cup with Argentina and Palmeiras' top scorer this season, with 17 goals in 40 matches.
According to the club's internal assessment, the break for the World Cup compromised box office revenue.
According to Somoggi, without a course correction, the deficit could reach R$200 million by the end of the year.
PAQUETÁ CONTRIBUTES TO FLAMENGO'S DEFICITIn the case of Flamengo, the deficit was much smaller, at R$33.8 million. Unlike its rival from São Paulo, the red-black team from Rio did not experience major drops in revenue and even registered an increase in gains obtained in the semester from the marketing area and from the operation of Maracanã.
What contributed most to the deficit was the high investment in the transfer window at the beginning of the year, when the club disbursed around EUR 53.7 million (R$ 320 million).
The majority of the amount was allocated to the repatriation of Lucas Paquetá, who was at West Ham, in England, and cost approximately EUR 42 million (R$ 250 million).
According to the club, just the expenses with the accounting amortization of economic rights, which included athletes contracted in the January window, totaled R$192.4 million.
Still according to the rubro-negro, gross recurring revenue, which excludes the sale of athletes, totaled R$732.4 million, an increase of 2.9%, even considering a comparison basis that included R$155.8 million in extraordinary revenues from participation in the 2025 Club World Cup.
“Without this extraordinary effect, recurring revenue would have grown by around 32%, as a result of the maturation of the main commercial fronts,” said the club.
“Flamengo will need to earn more and more to be able to afford this situation,” said Somoggi.
"Sponsorship revenue has increased due to the new contracts in force. The big problem is the increase in salary costs, which means that the club always has this pressure to close in the black", added the director of Sports Value.
Flamengo stated that it remains confident in “continuity of revenue growth and the strengthening of recurring generation of results”.
“The main commercial fronts continue to mature, and the contracts already signed provide the necessary support to go through the cycle smoothly,” he said.
Somoggi considered that both Flamengo and Palmeiras are “financially solid” clubs, but they live with their accounts in the red due to the pressure exerted by an annual football cost close to R$1 billion.
“These are not alarming numbers, but it is prudent to continue monitoring the economic and financial performance of the two clubs, which have been the reference in the management of Brazilian football,” said Trevisan.
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