Boavista bailed out

Businessman Sergio Silva rescues cash-strapped club

Boavista’s financial problems are a thing of the past after the club found their ‘knight in shining armour’ in businessman Sergio Silva.

The executive, who represents the CastleShore institution based in London, England, has agreed to invest a total of 38.5 million euros in the club.

It has been widely reported that the Porto based outfit are deep in the red and that the players were threatening to stage a strike due to salaries in arrears over the past few months. When previous president Joao Loureiro stepped down and current supremo Joaquim Teixeira took over, Boavista’s total debt was revealed to be 46 million euros.

The businessman will pump 14.5 million euros into the club straight away, which will cover the club’s immediate problem of the players’ unpaid wages.

Silva was more than happy to come to the aid of the cash-strapped club, and insisted he would not interfere with football matters on the pitch: “I do not want anything, I will remain on the side. I am here only to help the Boavista president and I do not want media attention,” he stated. “As for the players’ salaries, they can even be paid by the end of today.”

With a financial deal as large as this one, Silva and CastleShore will not go away empty-handed. As a result of their goodwill, CastleShore will receive the right to name the stadium, and also collect all the revenue generated through publicity, marketing and TV broadcasts.

Furthermore, CastleShore is also set to become owners of 10 players currently in the Boavista squad. It is not known if one of them will be Jorge Ribeiro as the reported Benfica target is out of a contract at the end of this season.


Related: Boavista players threaten strike action over unpaid wages