Nottingham Forest’s director of football, Edu Gaspar, recently met Botafogo officials as part of ongoing talks that could see the Brazilian club join Evangelos Marinakis’ multi-club network, [according to Brazilian outlet Globo Esporte](https://ge.globo.com/futebol/times/botafogo/noticia/2025/08/10/botafogo-se-reune-com-edu-gaspar-diretor-do-nottingham-forest-clube-de-marinakis.ghtml).
[We’ve previously covered](https://sportwitness.co.uk/nottingham-forests-growing-brazilian-plans-local-sources-explain-transfer-future/) Forest’s growing interest in Brazil as a market, and this meeting could represent a substantial step in that direction.
The encounter in Rio de Janeiro took place against the backdrop of Botafogo’s legal dispute involving Eagle Football and Ares Management over the future of their business structure.
Marinakis, who also owns Olympiacos and Rio Ave, has reportedly signalled willingness to provide financial support to John Textor in the matter. The Greek businessman has, however, publicly denied any formal negotiations to invest in the Rio side.
During the encounter, Botafogo presented their football operations and facilities to Gaspar, with feedback described as positive. The contact adds to a growing relationship between Textor and Marinakis, which could become more formal if the legal battle is resolved in Textor’s favour.
It’s not exactly a cold introduction to be fair. Marinakis and Textor have been circling each other recently, trading calls and cutting direct deals whenever the opportunity arose.
So should a deal happen, the long-term plan would be for Botafogo to integrate into Marinakis’ network of clubs, with Nottingham Forest acting as one of the key links in the project.