The “socios” of Benfica Lisbon elected ex-Portuguese international Rui Costa as president, a few months after the resignation of their former leader suspected of fraud, announced Portugal's most popular team on Saturday night in this Sunday.
Rui Costa, 49, comfortably won the election in which just over 40,000 "socios" participated, a record in the history of the club founded in 1904, garnering 84.48% of the vote against 12.24% for his opponent, Francisco Benitez.
His mandate will last four years, until 2025. First player of the club (1991-1994, 2006-2008), Rui Costa was then vice-president and finally interim at the head of the direction after the arrest of Luis Filipe Vieira in July.
The "Eagles" of Lisbon, disappointing in sporting terms, without the slightest trophy to be won, had a troubled period at the end of last season.
Their crisis culminated in the heart of the summer with the placement in police custody, house arrest and then the resignation of Luis Filipe Vieira.
Breach of trust, aggravated fraud, forgery, tax fraud and money laundering ...
The former leader is targeted by an investigation for breach of trust, aggravated fraud, forgery, tax evasion and money laundering, opened by the Portuguese judicial authorities and baptized "red card". After carrying out some forty searches in the regions of Lisbon and Braga (north), the prosecution reported cases and financing operations totaling more than 100 million euros which may have caused losses. high for the state and several companies.
72-year-old Luis Filipe Vieira will have managed Benfica for eighteen years, a longevity record accompanied by seven Portuguese league titles.
His presidency, marked in its early days by the financial recovery of the club and the construction of a new training center, had already been tarnished by several court cases for money laundering, tax evasion, corruption and influence peddling.
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