Carolina Salgado (born 14 March 1977) is a Portuguese public figure best known for being a former partner of

FC Porto Futebol Clube do Porto, Order of Prince Henry, MHIH, Order of Merit (Portugal), OM (), commonly known as FC Porto or simply Porto, is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Porto. It is best known for the professional association footbal ...

's long-time chairman

Jorge Nuno Pinto da Costa Jorge Nuno de Lima Pinto da Costa (28 December 1937 – 15 February 2025) () was a Portuguese sports executive, who was president of Portuguese sports club FC Porto, Porto from 1982 until 2024. He was the president with most titles won (69) in t ...

, and subsequently as a witness in '' Apito Dourado''.''Carolina Salgado Testemunha da Judiciária''
Correio da Manhã, 12 December 2006, accessed 2 January 2017 (in Portuguese)

Relationship with Pinto da Costa

Born in

Vila Nova de Gaia Vila Nova de Gaia (; ), or simply Gaia, is a city and a municipality in Porto District in Norte Region, Portugal, Norte Region, Portugal. It is located south of the city of Porto on the other side of the Douro River. The city proper had a populati ...

, Salgado became known as

's companion between 2000 and 2006, after he met her while she was working in a brothel, "Calor da Noite", as a part-time job. After the couple split, she published a controversial autobiography titled '' Eu, Carolina'' ("I, Carolina", officially ghost written by a long-time friend and high school Portuguese teacher Maria Fernanda Freitas de Sousa – although the latter claims there were substantial changes from the manuscript) in December 2006, presenting some quarters of Portuguese football as a promiscuous world, and revealing details of her relationship with Pinto da Costa. It was alleged by Salgado and widely reported in the news media that Pinto da Costa, who was formally accused in the '' Apito Dourado'' (Golden Whistle) sports corruption scandal in June 2007, was tipped off to the investigation by one of his personal friends inside the police department in

Porto Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...

conducting the investigation, Polícia Judiciária. This resulted in Pinto da Costa leaving Portugal to Spain with Salgado, hours before the police raided his house, where they did not find the documents they were looking for. Other serious accusations were made by Salgado, including match fixing, the bribing of referees with prostitutes, and Pinto da Costa's alleged ordering of the beating of Gondomar municipality councilman Ricardo Bexiga by two people. In addition, Salgado claimed that she was assaulted by Pinto da Costa's driver, who allegedly kicked her sister's pregnant belly. According to Salgado's own words, 6 April 2006 was the saddest day of her life, as she was (allegedly) kicked and slapped by Pinto da Costa.

Books

The book ''Eu, Carolina'' ("I, Carolina") made an impact on Portuguese news media and society. A

film adaptation A film adaptation transfers the details or story of an existing source text, such as a novel, into a feature film. This transfer can involve adapting most details of the source text closely, including characters or plot points, or the original sou ...

was made for cinema in 2007 with the title '' Corrupção'' ("Corruption"). The film was directed by João Botelho, starring Margarida Vila-Nova as the partner of a

football club In association football, a football club (or association football club, alternatively soccer club) is a sports club that acts as an entity through which association football teams organise their sporting activities. The club can exist either as ...

's chairman, portrayed by Nicolau Breyner. In 2011, Salgado published another book, titled ''Descida ao Inferno'' ("Descent to Hell"), in which she describes her life as a "hell" since the end of her relationship with Pinto da Costa.

Personal life

Carolina has a twin sister, Ana, and two children. In 2013, Salgado participated in the reality show Big Brother VIP.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Salgado, Carolina 1977 births Living people People from Vila Nova de Gaia Scandals in Portugal