The president of São Paulo, Julio Casares, announced his resignation on Wednesday, before a vote by the club's general assembly, which was supposed to ratify the dismissal due to accusations of embezzlement of funds. «My resignation does not constitute a confession, an acknowledgment of guilt or a validation of the accusations made against me», the sexagenarian began by warning in a post on Instagram. Casares made the decision out of the “need to preserve” his health and to “protect” his family against “attacks and threats”, he added in the same message. Casares' dismissal was approved on Friday by a large majority (188 votes in favor, 45 against and 2 abstentions) in a vote at the Morumbi stadium by the São Paulo Deliberative Council, the body that oversees the club's management. For it to be definitively ratified, it needed to be voted on by a simple majority of votes from club members during a general assembly. The police are investigating withdrawals made from the club's accounts between 2021 and 2025, the São Paulo government's Public Security Secretariat confirmed to France-Presse. In total, 11 million reais (around 1.77 million euros) would be involved, according to the local press.