A departing veteran executive at Portuguese football club Benfica has launched a blistering attack on presidential candidate João Noronha Lopes, calling him a “mediocre lawyer” unfit to lead the institution. Fernando Tavares, who is leaving his role as vice-president for modalities after 22 years, issued an open letter that sharply criticized Lopes.
Tavares accused Lopes of having “manipulated, conditioned and intimidated” the club’s General Assemblies. He further claimed Lopes “promoted the rejection of historically positive accounts” and used “fake profiles” purchased with what Tavares estimated was an “enormous fortune” of approximately $24.7 million USD to instrumentalize insults.
The former vice-president warned that Lopes becoming president would be a “tragedy,” jeopardizing Benfica’s sporting and financial future. He stated he had “endured his ‘stupidities and ignorance of Benfica’ for four years.”
Tavares also cited Lopes’ alleged “profound disrespect for Benfica and its President” through an “unqualifiable campaign” nicknamed “Banana.” He dismissed Lopes as “weak and unprepared” with “a profound ignorance of Benfica and its sports agenda.”
In the letter, Tavares contrasted his own international career, which included negotiating for BP stores in multiple countries, with Lopes’ professional background. He claimed Lopes was “not a manager” but merely a “scribe lawyer” who appeared only to finalize contracts negotiated by others.
Tavares challenged Lopes’ understanding of sports management, explaining that achieving second place in handball was crucial for retaining top players and allowing Champions League participation. He mockingly suggested he would need to explain concepts to Lopes “with drawings and captions, as I would with my grandchildren.”
The departing executive also criticized Lopes’ past business ventures, dismissing his “pseudo start-up” chicken business as a mere restaurant product that had “failed in its corporate restoration process.”
He further denounced Lopes’ proposal for a Euroleague Basketball team as “megalomania” and a “strategic error” because it lacked FIBA sanctioning. Tavares stated he had advocated for Benfica to join a future NBA Europe. He also disparaged Lopes’ chosen candidate for Vice of Modalities as an “unemployed” individual seeking a “professional sinecure.”
Benfica members are scheduled to vote in the upcoming presidential elections on the 25th.