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Modesto Roma Jr.
Modesto Roma Jr.
President of Santos FC
	In office; 13 December 2014 – 10 December 2017
Preceded by	Odílio Rodrigues
Succeeded by	José Carlos Peres
Personal details
Born	Modesto Roma Júnior; 5 December 1952; Santos, São Paulo, Brazil
Died	14 July 2024 (aged 71)
Children	2
Alma mater	UNISANTOS
Profession	Journalist, businessman

Modesto Roma Júnior (5 December 1952 – 14 July 2024) was a Brazilian businessman of the communications industry, and was the president of Santos FC for three years.

Personal life

Roma was born in Santos, São Paulo. A journalism graduate, he abandoned his initial career after only three years, and became a businessman in the communications area shortly after.^[2] He was also the son of Santos FC's former president Modesto Roma, who took charge of the club from 1975 to 1978.

Roma died on 14 July 2024, at the age of 71.^[3]

Santos FC

A Santos director from 2004 to 2009, under Marcelo Teixeira's reign (president of the club from 2000 to 2009), Roma submitted his presidential candidacy on 20 October 2014, being supported by Teixeira.^[4] On 13 December he was elected the new president, after winning by 1,329 votes.^[5]

Roma officially took charge of Peixe on 1 January 2015,^[6] with the club immersed in a severe financial crisis left by the previous administration, with players having unpaid wages.

Roma saw Aranha, Arouca, Leandro Damião and Eugenio Mena take legal actions against the club due to unpaid wages, but only the Chilean had a favourable decision; he managed to reach agreements with the others, while Damião lost his case. He also managed to pay the players' wages on 30 January,^[7] while saving a total of R$23 million of wages in the year, due to the departures.^[8]

After only signing players without paying any fee, Roma managed to gather a successful team during his first year in charge of Santos, winning the Campeonato Paulista and being runner-up in the Copa do Brasil. He also created a reserve team to serve as a transition between the youth setup and the main squad, copying the idea from the biggest European teams.

After a successful first year, Roma was highly criticized by the supporters during the 2017 campaign, mainly due to Lucas Lima's contractual problems. He was succeeded by José Carlos Peres on 10 December 2017. Peres later revealed that Roma was using the club's corporate card for personal reasons,^[9] whilst also paying a total of R$24 million in agent fees.^[10]

References

^ "Modesto Roma Júnior é candidato à presidência do Santos FC pela Chapa 4 – Santos Gigante" [Modesto Roma Júnior is a candidate of Santos FC's presidency by Chapa 4 – Santos Gigante] (in Portuguese). Santa Portal. 25 November 2014. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
^ "Modesto Roma Júnior" (in Portuguese). Máquina do Esporte. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
^ "Modesto Roma Júnior, ex-presidente do Santos, morre aos 71 anos". UOL (in Brazilian Portuguese). 14 July 2024. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
^ "Ao lado de Marcelo Teixeira, Modesto Roma Júnior apresenta candidatura" [Beside Marcelo Teixeira, Modesto Roma Júnior presents his candidacy] (in Portuguese). Globo Esporte. 20 October 2014. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
^ "Sócios do Santos elegem Modesto Roma Júnior o novo presidente" [Santos' associates elect Modesto Roma Júnior as the new president] (in Portuguese). Globo Esporte. 13 December 2014. Retrieved 15 December 2014.
^ "Modesto Roma Jr. assume oficialmente o Santos FC" [Modesto Roma Jr. officially takes over Santos FC] (in Portuguese). Santos' official website. 2 January 2015. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
^ "Comunicado" [Announcement] (in Portuguese). Santos' official website. 30 January 2015. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
^ "Com cortes na folha salarial, Santos aponta economia de R$23 milhões" [With cuts in the wages, Santos appoints savings of R$23 million] (in Portuguese). Globo Esporte. 22 January 2015. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
^ "Ex-presidente do Santos pagou Netflix com cartão corporativo" [Former Santos president paid Netflix with corporate card] (in Portuguese). Terra. 27 August 2018. Retrieved 19 September 2018.
^ "Santos pagou em comissões R$24 milhões na era Modesto Roma" [Santos paid in commissions R$24 million in Modesto Roma's era] (in Portuguese). Yahoo. 3 July 2018. Retrieved 19 September 2018.