SÃO PAULO, Brazil — Less than a year after its humiliating elimination from the World Cup, Brazilian soccer has a new crisis on its hands.
Brazil’s professional teams are drowning in debt, hemorrhaging players and playing in near-empty stadiums. Eight of the top 12 clubs are behind on salaries, and if they were businesses, nearly every team in the first division, Serie A, would be bankrupt.
Now, with Brazil’s economy in recession and sponsors and fans cutting back on spending, the clubs’ finances are expected to get even worse. The clubs must publish their 2014 results by April 30, and only one — Rio de Janeiro’s Flamengo — will be able to announce that it has earned enough to service its debt and pay its taxes, estimated Cesar Grafietti, a credit manager at the Brazilian investment bank Itaú BBA.