International investment banks JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs are interested in renegotiating FC Porto's debt, reveals André Villas-Boas, candidate for list B for the presidency of FC Porto in the club's elections.

"We sat down with three of the world's leading banks and they all showed interest in working with FC Porto to renegotiate the debt. It is already a good sign that there is this openness. Then, we will fight for the best conditions in terms of future interest rates", said the former coach of the 'blue and white' football team, in an interview with the Lusa agency.

In the first half of the current fiscal year, which ended on December 31, 2023, the SAD headed by Pinto da Costa, the club's leader since 1982 and Villas-Boas' electoral opponent, recorded 512.7 million euros (ME) in liabilities and 223.1 ME in financial debt.

"When we hear the other candidacy talking about international banks charging much higher interest rates, they really don't know what they're talking about. Just consult the banks' prospectuses and understand that they rarely exceed 7% in restructuring clubs' debt. But, as there is a vested interest in financing the club at rates well above eight, nine or 10%, this naturally distances any and all interest in going to market", he analyzed.

Critical of a "sad financial scenario", the former coach was surprised to have noticed during his exploratory contacts an "inefficiency in the use of the market" by SAD, which "reveals indifference to the international market and a protection of self-interests increasingly evident and well explained" in Pinto da Costa's list.

"FC Porto went to market without looking for the best solutions, but the fastest and most painful in terms of operating costs and interest rates. It did so in a clear conflict of interest with the people who currently surround the club, but without safeguarding better market entries. A club that accumulates 250 ME in liabilities and pays 27 ME to its directors most likely scares many good investors, who want to cross paths with FC Porto's good name, but do not do so because of the lack of credibility of some people who govern it", he lamented, projecting a "long and painful path".

In addition to the "obligation and need" to carry out a "deep financial restructuring", based on reducing operating costs, increasing revenues and renegotiating debt terms and service, there are "enormous challenges in immediate treasury" to face.

"It seems clear to us that FC Porto is in operational bankruptcy and has no 'cash flow'. It is increasingly anticipating revenue and is subject to private capital subscriptions and commercial partnerships to have capital injection and be able to stay afloat. These are clear signs of operational bankruptcy, which scare us a lot. A debt and a liability of this kind are not reformatted at all in three years, but much longer term, which, unfortunately, is where we have to look, but maintaining competitive capacity", he said.

Rigorous management, enhancing operating income and generating results with the appreciation of assets are paths chosen for the reformatting of the financial policy required by André Villas-Boas, 46, who admits going to the market "to seek various types of investment" to finance the construction of the high-performance center idealized in Olival, which will cost between 30 and 35 ME and should be completed by December 2026.

"These will be issues to assess. Going to the market is essential, but in search of the best partnerships. Before, we have to sit down to see the contracts that are established on the other side [by Pinto da Costa] in relation to the academy in Maia, also because I am very interested in FC Porto not wasting construction time or getting involved in bureaucratic issues in the future. As for bureaucratic issues, those that led to the non-completion of the academy in Matosinhos, which this administration took eight years to resolve, are enough", he recalled.