The President of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, warns about the financial crisis in football clubs

The President of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, stated on Saturday that several football teams, mainly those in the second division, will have to declare bankruptcy in the coming days if football does not resume.

"The issue of football is starting to reach us and I am not the one who will decide. What do you think, can football return with empty stadiums? We must listen to the players' union," Bolsonaro declared in a live broadcast on his social media.

The leader warned that there are already "teams that are going bankrupt: those in the second division for sure and those who are competing in tournaments in different states."

"But we also have big teams with million-dollar salary bills. If I'm not mistaken, Flamengo's salary bill is around 15 million reais (three million dollars), and Palmeiras' is also high. How are they going to pay that without exploiting their image and obviously without people in the stadiums, how are they going to generate income?" he questioned.

According to him, the decision cannot be made by the Federal Government. However, he defended listening to the players' unions to evaluate the possibility of resuming matches, which were suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic.