São Paulo FC generated a stir among fans and advisors of the club after a report by Globo Esporte about the debt of the Tricolor. According to the report, São Paulo would have ended 2025 with a total liability of R$ 2.45 billion, ranking among the three most indebted clubs in Brazilian football, alongside Corinthians, Atlético-MG and Botafogo. However, according to advisor and finance expert Flávio Marques, the interpretation presented by the report may lead the reader to a mistaken conclusion by using the term “total liability” as a synonym for debt. According to Marques, São Paulo's effective debt in December 2025 was R$ 1.067 billion. Considering the R$ 209 million in receivables, the club's net debt would be approximately R$ 858 million. “The problem is the use of total liability as a parameter for comparing debt. This way of presenting the numbers can lead to an incorrect interpretation,” he says. According to Flávio Marques, the main difference between the total liability of R$ 2.45 billion and the club's effective debt is a accounting item called “Receitas a Apropriar”, which has a balance of R$ 1.387 billion. This is about future revenues already contracted, but not yet recognized as realized revenue. To illustrate, Marques uses the example of a property rented for R$ 10,000 per month for 36 months. In this scenario, the owner registers the R$ 360,000 of the contract both in the asset, as accounts receivable, and in the liability, as receivables to be appropriated. As the monthly payments are made, the values are adjusted simultaneously in both accounts. According to him, São Paulo currently has long-term contracts with companies such as Superbet, Globo, Brax and New Balance, whose future values total approximately R$ 1.387 billion. “The same value appears registered both in the Asset and in the Liability, inflating the accounting balances, but without representing effective financial debt,” he explains. For Flávio Marques, the correct way to compare the financial situation between clubs with different capital structures is through net debt, and not through total liability. In the advisor's evaluation, using only the liability as an indicator can generate distortions, especially in clubs that have long-term contracts for future revenues registered in their financial statements. Thus, although São Paulo's total liability actually reached R$ 2.45 billion in 2025, that number does not represent the club's effective debt. According to Marques' calculations, the Tricolor's net debt is in the order of R$ 858 million, a value significantly lower than that disclosed in the comparison based exclusively on accounting liabilities.