Dear Gigi,

We heard that you are looking for a new challenge and receptive to listening to a “crazy and stimulating” proposal.

Therefore, we decided to present you with something irresistible: how about moving to Lisbon and helping us to quickly return to our place in Portuguese football, the I Liga?

Our friendship does not come from today. You have known us since at least 2004, the year when with the Italian team you trained daily at Estádio do Restelo, our home and the most beautiful of the sports venues.

We are sure that you have not forgotten it – how could you? – as well as the incredible view that our sports complex has over the Tagus River.

Because you are a man of football and a citizen of the world, you probably knew us before.

The Clube de Futebol “Os Belenenses” is an association-based sports club founded in Belém, Lisbon, Portugal, on September 23, 1919 and which, since the beginning of its activity, has been playing football as a central motivation.

We are one of the 5 Portuguese clubs that have already won the Portuguese League.

We have 4 championships and 3 Cups in our history, and we were also the club invited by Real Madrid to inaugurate the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. Your friend Cristiano Ronaldo’s nephew started playing in our soccer schools.

Throughout our centenary history, the Club has grown beyond the borders of Belém and the western Lisbon, asserting itself in the whole of the national territory, having several branches – in mainland Portugal, Islands and abroad – and official delegations. We have already lost count of the players we formed for the Portuguese national teams…

Despite our rich history and being the fourth club with the most fans in Portugal, we are currently competing at the fifth national level. Do you remember the route your dear Parma took? Ours is somehow similar.

We went down to hell when in 2018 we split from the sports society that competes in the I League, under our name, and we were forced to descend to the last division, the seventh division.

Since then, we have always been climbing in the first position and we are at the moment leading our division.

Our journey in football is unprecedented both at the national and international levels. We have given up the name associated with a “sports limited liability company” that competes in the 1st League, and have opted to make a “climb” based on values and principles, towards the Professional Leagues.

By associating yourself with Belenenses and our journey, you will see your name associated with a history that is already internationally known and recognized, as well as with inalienable words and principles such as Honor, Truth, Love for the Jersey and the Values of Foundation of “Os Belenenses”, dating back to 1919, in an era when the purity of football prevailed over all other dimensions of the game.

We are humble, realistic and honorable. It is not money that we have to offer you, but the possibility of having your name associated with another challenge that only living legends – like you – can embrace with a sense of opportunity.

You already occupy a place of excellence in the history of football, but here you can ascend to Olympus.

You will work with the best view of the city of Lisbon, in the most beautiful stadium in the world (and in this you will agree with us, for sure).

We have a home for our athletes. It is an humble space, but everyone there is available to give you their own bed.
Of course, you can always choose a house overlooking the Tagus River, but that is up to you.

You will be able to comfortably dine in the excellent restaurants located in the Estádio do Restelo, but of course, you will also be able to visit one of the 12 Michelin-starred restaurants in the city of Lisbon.

In the contract we will not fail to include 1 annual pass for the MAAT (do you already know this work of art in architecture?) And 1 family ticket, per week, for visits to the Coach Museum, to the Monument to the Discoveries, to the Tower of Belém, and to the Jerónimos Monastery these last two UNESCO world heritage sites.

The contract will also include a pack of six Pasteis de Belém a week, one of the most popular specialties of Portuguese sweets, which you will certainly enjoy without tweaking your diet.

All “walking distance” from Restelo Stadium. And speaking of the stage where you will play: you will have a private box for your family, although we would like to count on you on the bench, among our family … Do you know that our colors are those of the Azzurra? Beautiful isn’t it?

At the Club, everyone is looking forward to welcoming you and we assure you will find a team with a human and technical quality that will surprise you.

At this moment, we are playing the last days of the championship of the 1st District Division (5th level) and we hope to soon be celebrating the rise – finally – to the national championships. Who knows if you can celebrate it with us now …

Certainly that with you in the team we will quickly reach the place that rightfully belongs to us in the 1st League and we will be able to do some great matches in the Portuguese Cup – a competition that we have already won 3 times.

We will be happy to meet you in person in Turin, but if you want to visit us in Belém right now, we will be delighted to welcome you.