Argentine champion will receive less in prizes than Series B winner

It is nothing new that Brazil has been dominating the South American football scene, for example, the last seven editions of the Copa Libertadores have had Brazilian champions and, of the 14 finalists since 2019, only two were Argentine. And this discrepancy also appears in the amounts invested.

One of the most striking differences is precisely in the national leagues. Belgrano, who made history last Sunday (24) by beating River Plate 3-2 and becoming Argentine champions, received just 500 thousand dollars in prize money, approximately R$ 2.5 million at the current price.

In comparison to Brazil, Coritiba, champion of Series B in 2025, earned R$3.5 million in prize money paid directly by the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF).

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For Cristiano Caús, a lawyer specializing in sports law and partner at CCLA Advogados, the distance between Brazil and Argentina can be compared to the difference between Brazilian football and Europe.

"The disparity between the prizes paid for Brazilian competitions and those paid in Argentine territory is perhaps the same distance that our leagues have in relation to the main competitions of the old continent. Furthermore, as is the case in Europe, the much higher amounts paid for Brazilian competitions compared to Argentine ones are also explained by the difference between our economy and that of our neighbors", he analyzed.

Criticism of management
The economic and organizational disparity bothers big names in Argentine football and this is not new. Former player Juan Sebastián Verón, current president of Estudiantes, has made harsh criticisms of the current economic scenario of football in the country in recent years.

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"The (Argentine) football business has reached its limit. You can compete with Brazilian football, but in the final stages you need capital, which is what the Argentine club doesn't have," he said, in an interview with Bloomberg Línea, in 2025.

In November 2024, Verón had also criticized the value of prizes in football in Argentina compared to Brazil. For him, the prizes "don't even pay for the fans' bus fare".

Is SAF a solution?
Factors external to football, such as the economy and currency appreciation, have a direct impact on the sport's revenue and, therefore, clubs need to anticipate and create triggers to increase income, reducing these impacts.

According to Guilherme Bellintani, former president of Bahia and current CEO of Squadra Sports, the first multi-club platform in Brazil, this is precisely where Argentine football is falling short.

"Brazil came to dominate the Libertadores because this scenario combines the economic decline of Argentine football, which has not modernized in terms of financial strategy, fundraising, commercialization of rights and structuring of clubs, and the rise of several Brazilian clubs, driven by more public attendance in stadiums, greater sales of sponsorships and better negotiation of rights", he explained.

"In football, nothing is definitive, but there is a tendency for the big clubs in Brazil, well organized and financially structured, to continue expanding this dominance in the coming years. The big difference in Brazilian football is not between SAFs and associative clubs, but between well-managed and poorly managed institutions", said Bellintani.

Other experts also ponder the possibility of SAFs, or SADs, as they are called in Argentina.

"It is worth highlighting that the mentality of managers also has an impact. In Argentina, football is still seen as a cultural heritage, with a strong connection to popular passion and resistance to the corporate model, which limits the commercial exploitation of the sport. On the other hand, Brazil, despite facing challenges, has adopted a more pragmatic approach, which combines passion with business vision", analyzes Thales Rangel Mafia, marketing manager at Multimarcas Consórcios.

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Published by Cris Schwambach

Source: CNN