At the beginning of 2023, Racing was on the verge of closing a multi-million dollar agreement for Sur Finanzas Group S.A. to become the club's main sponsor for two years. The talks were so advanced that photos of the jersey with the brand stamped on the chest even leaked. However, as reported by Agencia Noticias Argentinas, a single investigation by journalist Leandro Belli was enough to collapse what was practically sealed. The club, which had an almost closed deal, decided to pause and backtrack. Racing understood that proceeding with this main sponsorship implied a reputational risk that could affect the team's image and ignite internal conflicts. The investigation exposed a web that had never been brought to light so openly. In the thread, an episode in the Cylinder's Plate A was recounted where Escobar was confronted by another sector of the fanbase, a situation that ended with police intervention. This combination — judicial backgrounds, ties to barra brava groups, and companies investigated by control bodies — set off all the alarms. The public reaction was immediate. Instead of signing the main sponsor contract, the club chose to freeze the announcement and review the situation. The journalistic investigation had achieved the unthinkable: to tear down a contract that was ready to be finalized. From a frustrated main sponsor to a minor sponsor Although public pressure prevented the brand from reaching the chest of the jersey, Sur Finanzas managed to remain as a secondary sponsor. The club accepted a smaller-scale agreement, valid from October 2023 to December 2024, although reserving the right to seek another main sponsor. When that relationship was about to end, Tapie explicitly asked Sur Finanzas to continue during 2025. The thread on X went viral in a few hours and internal opposition became impossible to ignore.
