Verón shakes Argentine football: he signs the pre-investment agreement with an American tycoon :: Olé

It is a day that could mark a new era for Argentine football in general and for Estudiantes in particular. This Thursday afternoon, at the UNO stadium, Juan Sebastián Verón will lay the foundation stone so that the club he presides can receive private investments. It will come about through a partnership with American magnate Foster Gillett, who initially plans to spend around $150 million.

What will be signed during these hours will be a pre-agreement between the club and the investor (who will be represented by businessman Guillermo Tofoni)in which the bases of the investment contract will be established. The regulations, the terms of the bond will be put on paper (it will be permanent reinvestment for more than 15 years) and something essential, the percentage that each party will have as a company.

For this, in this time of silent work, A total valuation of the club was made, to which the money that Gillett plans to contribute will be added (what has been said, around 150 million dollars) and based on one amount and the other, establish what corresponds to each party in this alliance.

Then, this pre-agreement will be polished with lawyers and accountants. for your final essay, which will be presented to the members and will be voted on for approval. It will take place through an Extraordinary Assembly, which the club plans to call in December. This will mark the peak moment of the project, because if Verón insisted on something at this time, it is that the club will not cease to be a civil association and that the members will have the possibility of deciding.

In that sense, The framework that will be given to this investment agreement will be that of a mixed company (not SAD)in which in principle Estudiantes will not put any of the club’s assets at risk or as collateral. In any case, it must have the approval of the partners for it to be carried out.

If the partners give the OK to the entry of private capital, Students will be the spearhead of a stage and a project (that of external investments in football) that also seduces the National Government and that At this time Verón ideologically confronted the AFA.

The proposed injection of money is at all levels. Both in promoting all of the club’s football and other disciplines and also, fundamentally, the infrastructure. Not only will UNO stadium be remodeled againwhich has just completed five years since its inauguration (it is planned to be roofed), but the construction of new courts is planned at the City Bell Country Club, where the First team practices and concentrates, and even construction, in the future , a new training center, with micro stadiums for the club’s other activities.

Verón himself already said it, in the last ordinary shareholders’ meeting: “We want to be one of the three biggest clubs in Argentina, that’s without a doubt. And we have many assurances about the path we want. It is an opening for the club in all aspects. And we are not going to lose that by having a partner or someone who comes to invest. On the contrary, we are going to enhance that,” he said in his speech.

For everything, this Thursday will be the first step, which will lay the foundations for what can be a new era in Argentine football.