Former manager of Doyen Sports Investments, Nélio Lucas, revealed this Wednesday in the trial of the ‘Football Leaks’ lawsuit that the investment fund targeted by Rui Pinto’s alleged intrusion did not lose money in the deals made with the clubs.
At the 21st session of the trial at the Central Criminal Court of Lisbon, the businessman, who is being heard as a witness, has been explaining to the Public Prosecutor and the collective of judges the patterns of Doyen’s performance in the transfer market. players, having ensured that the types of contracts usually established with clubs safeguarded the fund from possible investment losses.
Doyen has not lost money. With this type of business, I never lost ”, shot Nélio Lucas, in response to the risks that fell on the investment fund, stressing:“ Doyen’s risk was that the player would not be transferred and the valuation was limited to interest, never more than 10% per year ”, added, after detailing that Doyen contracted the same percentage of a future transfer in relation to the amount initially invested.
Doyen CEO between 2011 and 2017, Nélio Lucas stated that the Malta-based investment fund “Practically” did not speak to the players and that the “Counterpart has always been clubs”, refusing any ownership on the players’ passes. In this regard, he noted that Doyen advocated ‘TPI’ contracts [third part investment] and not ‘TPO’ [third part ownership, na sigla em inglês], as it was later banned by FIFA.
The players were never from the bottom, they were from the clubs. They became active in the clubs and the passes belong to the clubs. Our interest was in revaluation, we invested in economic rights, which were associated with federative law, the pass. The asset is always the club’s, we have the possibility to receive the valuation and the player had no contractual obligation with us ”, creased.
Directly questioned about the connection to Sporting and the deals that existed with the Alvalade club, namely the players Marcos Rojo and Zakaria Labyad, Nélio Lucas pointed out that the ‘Leonino’ emblem was in a situation “Extremely complex in 2012”, what “Needed to make capital” and that it was Sporting, under the presidency of Godinho Lopes, who sought out Doyen to do business.
In the specific case of Rojo, which would lead to a dispute between Sporting, already under Bruno de Carvalho, the former Doyen administrator stressed that the investment fund advanced 75% of the investment of four million euros in the contract with Spartak Moscow and was responsible for the first three installments, with the lions being responsible for the fourth and final installment. “When Sporting ceases to have the player, he hasn’t even paid the installment,” he noted.
Rui Pinto, 31, is responsible for a total of 90 crimes: 68 of undue access, 14 of violation of correspondence, six of illegitimate access, targeting entities such as Sporting, Doyen, PLMJ law firm, the Portuguese Federation of Football (FPF) and the Attorney General’s Office (PGR), and also for computer sabotage to Sporting’s SAD and for extortion, in the attempted form. This last crime concerns Doyen and was also what led to the pronunciation of the lawyer Aníbal Pinto.
The creator of Football Leaks has been free since August 7, “due to his collaboration” with the Judicial Police (PJ) and his “critical sense”, but for security reasons, it is part of the witness protection program in an undisclosed location and under police protection.
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