Jorge Mendes
Encyclopedia
Jorge Paulo Agostinho Mendes is a Portuguese
football
agent
. He is registered with the football association of Portugal
and heads the GestiFute
company, founded in 1996. Mendes is among the most influential football agents
in the world, with clients including Felipão
, José Mourinho
, Cristiano Ronaldo
, Ricardo Carvalho
, Nani
, Quaresma
and Falcao
.
's move from Vitória de Guimarães to Deportivo de La Coruña
. He had met the goalkeeper in a bar in Guimarães
. After that deal, Mendes gradually attracted more Portuguese players, including Jorge Andrade. Hugo Viana
's move from Sporting Clube de Portugal to Newcastle United
in the English Premier League for around €12 million in 2002 was his first major international transfer.
It has been reported that Mendes came to physical blows at the Portela Airport in Lisbon
with José Veiga, the agent of Luís Figo
, whose influence Mendes was gradually supplanting at this time.
's move from FC Porto to manage Chelsea
, despite Mourinho already having an agent, José Baidek, whom Mourinho had known since his time at União de Leiria and who had reportedly lined up a move to Liverpool
. Mourinho and Mendes negotiated with the agent Pini Zahavi
, who acted as Chelsea's representative.
The deal established Mendes' importance. He built up a roster of the leading Portuguese players and every Portuguese player that followed Mourinho to Chelsea was a client of Mendes, including Deco
, Ricardo Carvalho
, Paulo Ferreira
, Tiago
, and Maniche. GestiFute was also involved in part-owning the economic rights of a number of these players. In July 2003, FC Porto bought 20% of Deco's rights from GestiFute in exchange for €2.25 million, plus 5% of the economic rights for Ricardo Carvalho and Paulo Ferreira. Shortly afterwards, GestiFute sold a further 15% of Deco's economic rights to the club, this time in return for €1.25 million and 10% of the striker Benni McCarthy
.
At the 2008 European Championships, Mendes was allowed privileged access to the Portuguese team hotel by the then-manager Luiz Felipe Scolari
. In the same year, Mendes handled the deal that took Scolari to Chelsea, negotiating a three-year contract worth between £5.5 million and £6.25 million.
He also oversaw Mourinho's move to Internazionale
in 2008, for a fee that made him the highest paid coach in the world, and then, in May 2010, that which saw him move from Internazionale to become Real Madrid
's manager on a four-year contract worth £40 million.
from Sporting Clube de Portugal to Manchester United
for £12.24 million in 2003 and in 2007 those of Anderson
and Nani
to the same club for £46 million. The Nani transfer followed only once the player had dropped his existing agent, Ana Almeida. That summer, he was also responsible for the transfers of Pepe to Real Madrid
for £25 million and Simão
to Atlético Madrid for £16.5 million.
Mendes' association with Anderson reflected the connections he established in South America
, in which he worked closely with Zahavi. Part of the deal that took Anderson to Manchester United saw his previous club FC Porto pay Mendes a reported £4 million for his share of Anderson's registration. Mendes was said to have contributed 20% of the £3.75 million Porto paid Grêmio
in Brazil to sign the midfielder in 2006.
Part of Mendes' approach was to be a constant presence at soccer schools and youth teams throughout Portugal, spotting and signing up young players, as he did with Cristiano Ronaldo. The same approach also led to his representing Ricardo Quaresma
.
In 2009, Mendes was reported to have made £4 million from Ronaldo's £80 million transfer from Manchester United to Real Madrid.
, a player he represented, was transferred to Manchester United
from Vitória de Guimarães. "When [Jorge] Mendes arrived," he said, "I was out of the transaction." Reis had arranged Bébé's move to Vitória from Estrela da Amadora in the Portuguese third division in July 2010 after the cancellation of his contract due to the club's inability to pay the player's wages. Manchester United signed Bébé for a reported fee of £7.4 million five weeks later. United's manager, Alex Ferguson
, admitted that he had not seen Bébé play.
Gestifute apparently received 30 percent of the transfer fee for their part ownership of the player's economic rights. Vitória's directors reported that Mendes had received €3.6 million of the €9 million fee from the deal, with reports in Portugal suggesting that €2.7 million of that sum came from the 30 percent of the player's economic rights initially retained by Bébé but bought from the player by Mendes for €100,000.
Emilio Macedo, the President of the Guimarães club, called Mendes, "The bulwark of this transfer" and defended the agent, saying, "With all due respect to other agents, this country owes him a lot because he handles large transfers and brings money into the country because this is like an export."
Bébé had reportedly been recommended to Manchester United by Carlos Queiroz
, who had two spells as assistant manager at the club, and managed the Portuguese national side. His relationship with United had been important in the transfers of Anderson and Nani in 2007.
to "create global opportunities for current and future clients" as part of the CAA's expansion into the sports market.
Portuguese people
The Portuguese are a nation and ethnic group native to the country of Portugal, in the west of the Iberian peninsula of south-west Europe. Their language is Portuguese, and Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion....
football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
agent
Sports agent
A sports agent procures and negotiates employment and endorsement contracts for an athlete.In return, the sports agent generally receives between 4 and 10% of the athlete's playing contract, and 10 to 20% of the athlete's endorsement contract, though these figures vary...
. He is registered with the football association of Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
and heads the GestiFute
GestiFute
GestiFute full name Gestão de Carreiras de Profissionais Desportivos S.A. is a Portuguese company. It provides agent services for footballers...
company, founded in 1996. Mendes is among the most influential football agents
Sports agent
A sports agent procures and negotiates employment and endorsement contracts for an athlete.In return, the sports agent generally receives between 4 and 10% of the athlete's playing contract, and 10 to 20% of the athlete's endorsement contract, though these figures vary...
in the world, with clients including Felipão
Luiz Felipe Scolari
Luiz Felipe Scolari , ComIH , also known as Felipão in Brazil and Phil Scolari in the United Kingdom, is a World Cup-winning Brazilian football manager. He is currently the manager of Palmeiras. He served as the manager of the Portuguese national team from July 12, 2003 to June 30, 2008...
, José Mourinho
José Mourinho
José Mário dos Santos Félix Mourinho is a Portuguese football manager and the current manager of Real Madrid. He is commonly known as "The Special One".Mourinho is regarded by some players, coaches and critics as the best ever coach in football....
, Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro, OIH, , commonly known as Cristiano Ronaldo, is a Portuguese footballer who plays as a winger or striker for Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid and is the captain of the Portuguese national team...
, Ricardo Carvalho
Ricardo Carvalho
Ricardo Alberto Silveira de Carvalho OIH , is a footballer who plays as a centre back for Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid.Carvalho was born in Amarante where he played for the local team, Amarante Futebol Clube. By his great performance as a youngster, he was spotted by the Portuguese powerhouse,...
, Nani
Nani
-People:*Nani, a Portuguese footballer who plays for Manchester United*Gianluca Nani, former technical director at West Ham United*Nanabhoy Palkhivala, nicknamed Nani, an Indian jurist and economist*Nani Roma, a Spanish rally racing driver...
, Quaresma
Ricardo Quaresma
Ricardo Andrade Quaresma Bernardo is a Portuguese footballer of partial Romani descent who currently plays as a winger for Turkish Süper Lig side Beşiktaş J.K and the Portuguese national team. Quaresma began his career at Sporting Clube de Portugal, and has also played for FC Barcelona, FC Porto,...
and Falcao
Radamel Falcao
Radamel Falcao García Zárate , commonly known simply as Falcao, is a Colombian football striker who currently plays for Atlético Madrid....
.
Early career
Mendes began as a footballer but was forced to abandon his hopes of a professional career after being rejected by a number of Portuguese clubs when he was in his early 20s. After the end of his football career, he opened a number of bars and nightclubs, and ran a video rental store.First deals
Mendes' first deal as a football agent came in 1996 when he brokered NunoNuno Espírito Santo
Nuno Herlander Simões Espírito Santo , simply Nuno, is a retired Santomean-born Portuguese footballer who played as a goalkeeper....
's move from Vitória de Guimarães to Deportivo de La Coruña
Deportivo de La Coruña
Real Club Deportivo de La Coruña is a professional football club based in the city of A Coruña, Galicia; founded in 1906 and currently playing in Segunda División...
. He had met the goalkeeper in a bar in Guimarães
Guimarães
Guimarães Municipality is located in northwestern Portugal in the province of Minho and in the Braga District. It contains the city of Guimarães.The present Mayor is António Magalhães Silva, elected by the Socialist Party.-Parishes:-Economy:...
. After that deal, Mendes gradually attracted more Portuguese players, including Jorge Andrade. Hugo Viana
Hugo Viana
Hugo Miguel Ferreira Gomes Viana is a Portuguese footballer who plays for Sporting de Braga as a central midfielder.His main assets are good set-pieces and passing skills...
's move from Sporting Clube de Portugal to Newcastle United
Newcastle United F.C.
Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, and has played at its current home ground, St James' Park, since the merger...
in the English Premier League for around €12 million in 2002 was his first major international transfer.
It has been reported that Mendes came to physical blows at the Portela Airport in Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
with José Veiga, the agent of Luís Figo
Luís Figo
Luís Filipe Madeira Caeiro Figo, OIH, is a Portuguese former international footballer. He played as a midfielder for Sporting CP, FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Internazionale, during a career which spanned over a period of 20 years. He retired from football on 31 May 2009...
, whose influence Mendes was gradually supplanting at this time.
Mourinho and Chelsea
In 2004, Mendes brokered José MourinhoJosé Mourinho
José Mário dos Santos Félix Mourinho is a Portuguese football manager and the current manager of Real Madrid. He is commonly known as "The Special One".Mourinho is regarded by some players, coaches and critics as the best ever coach in football....
's move from FC Porto to manage Chelsea
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
, despite Mourinho already having an agent, José Baidek, whom Mourinho had known since his time at União de Leiria and who had reportedly lined up a move to Liverpool
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
. Mourinho and Mendes negotiated with the agent Pini Zahavi
Pini Zahavi
Pinhas "Pini" Zahavi is a football agent who has been involved in some of the most expensive and controversial transfer episodes of recent times....
, who acted as Chelsea's representative.
The deal established Mendes' importance. He built up a roster of the leading Portuguese players and every Portuguese player that followed Mourinho to Chelsea was a client of Mendes, including Deco
Deco
Anderson Luís de Souza, OIH , commonly known as Deco, is a Brazilian-born Portuguese professional footballer who currently plays for Fluminense....
, Ricardo Carvalho
Ricardo Carvalho
Ricardo Alberto Silveira de Carvalho OIH , is a footballer who plays as a centre back for Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid.Carvalho was born in Amarante where he played for the local team, Amarante Futebol Clube. By his great performance as a youngster, he was spotted by the Portuguese powerhouse,...
, Paulo Ferreira
Paulo Ferreira
Paulo Renato Rebocho Ferreira is a Portuguese footballer who plays for Chelsea as a defender. However, in his recent years, Ferreira has been noted to play as an attacking forward, in which he is famous for his through balls out to the wingers and/or striker-Early career:He started his career in...
, Tiago
Tiago Mendes
Tiago Cardoso Mendes , simply Tiago, is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays for Atlético Madrid.A versatile midfielder, adept as both a central or defensive unit and with good overall skills, he played professionally in four of Europe's major leagues: England, France, Italy and Spain.A...
, and Maniche. GestiFute was also involved in part-owning the economic rights of a number of these players. In July 2003, FC Porto bought 20% of Deco's rights from GestiFute in exchange for €2.25 million, plus 5% of the economic rights for Ricardo Carvalho and Paulo Ferreira. Shortly afterwards, GestiFute sold a further 15% of Deco's economic rights to the club, this time in return for €1.25 million and 10% of the striker Benni McCarthy
Benni McCarthy
Benedict Saul "Benni" McCarthy is a South African footballer who is currently contracted to Orlando Pirates in South Africa.McCarthy holds the record of international goals for a South African...
.
At the 2008 European Championships, Mendes was allowed privileged access to the Portuguese team hotel by the then-manager Luiz Felipe Scolari
Luiz Felipe Scolari
Luiz Felipe Scolari , ComIH , also known as Felipão in Brazil and Phil Scolari in the United Kingdom, is a World Cup-winning Brazilian football manager. He is currently the manager of Palmeiras. He served as the manager of the Portuguese national team from July 12, 2003 to June 30, 2008...
. In the same year, Mendes handled the deal that took Scolari to Chelsea, negotiating a three-year contract worth between £5.5 million and £6.25 million.
He also oversaw Mourinho's move to Internazionale
F.C. Internazionale Milano
Football Club Internazionale Milano, often referred to as Internazionale or simply Inter, is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Italy. Outside Italy, the club is often called Inter Milan. They are the reigning FIFA Club World champions and Coppa Italia holders.Inter have always...
in 2008, for a fee that made him the highest paid coach in the world, and then, in May 2010, that which saw him move from Internazionale to become Real Madrid
Real Madrid C.F.
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol , commonly known as Real Madrid, is a professional football club based in Madrid, Spain. The club have won a record 31 La Liga titles, the Primera División of the Liga de Fútbol Profesional , 18 Copas del Rey, 8 Spanish Super Cups, 1 Copa Eva Duarte and 1 Copa de la...
's manager on a four-year contract worth £40 million.
Ronaldo, Nani and Anderson
Mendes oversaw the transfer of Cristiano RonaldoCristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro, OIH, , commonly known as Cristiano Ronaldo, is a Portuguese footballer who plays as a winger or striker for Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid and is the captain of the Portuguese national team...
from Sporting Clube de Portugal to Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
for £12.24 million in 2003 and in 2007 those of Anderson
Anderson Luís de Abreu Oliveira
Anderson Luís de Abreu Oliveira , best known as Anderson, is a Brazilian footballer who currently plays as a midfielder for Manchester United and the Brazil national team....
and Nani
Nani
-People:*Nani, a Portuguese footballer who plays for Manchester United*Gianluca Nani, former technical director at West Ham United*Nanabhoy Palkhivala, nicknamed Nani, an Indian jurist and economist*Nani Roma, a Spanish rally racing driver...
to the same club for £46 million. The Nani transfer followed only once the player had dropped his existing agent, Ana Almeida. That summer, he was also responsible for the transfers of Pepe to Real Madrid
Real Madrid C.F.
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol , commonly known as Real Madrid, is a professional football club based in Madrid, Spain. The club have won a record 31 La Liga titles, the Primera División of the Liga de Fútbol Profesional , 18 Copas del Rey, 8 Spanish Super Cups, 1 Copa Eva Duarte and 1 Copa de la...
for £25 million and Simão
Simão Sabrosa
Simão Pedro Fonseca Sabrosa, OIH , commonly known as Simão , is a Portuguese footballer who plays for Beşiktaş J.K. in Turkey, mainly as a left winger - he can also play as a forward - with dribbling and set piece skills as primary attributes.Having played in his country for two of the three...
to Atlético Madrid for £16.5 million.
Mendes' association with Anderson reflected the connections he established in South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
, in which he worked closely with Zahavi. Part of the deal that took Anderson to Manchester United saw his previous club FC Porto pay Mendes a reported £4 million for his share of Anderson's registration. Mendes was said to have contributed 20% of the £3.75 million Porto paid Grêmio
Grêmio Foot-Ball Porto Alegrense
Grêmio Foot-Ball Porto Alegrense, commonly known as just Grêmio , is a Brazilian professional association football team based in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul founded by English and German immigrants on September 15, 1903. Major titles captured by Grêmio include one Intercontinental Cup, two Copa...
in Brazil to sign the midfielder in 2006.
Part of Mendes' approach was to be a constant presence at soccer schools and youth teams throughout Portugal, spotting and signing up young players, as he did with Cristiano Ronaldo. The same approach also led to his representing Ricardo Quaresma
Ricardo Quaresma
Ricardo Andrade Quaresma Bernardo is a Portuguese footballer of partial Romani descent who currently plays as a winger for Turkish Süper Lig side Beşiktaş J.K and the Portuguese national team. Quaresma began his career at Sporting Clube de Portugal, and has also played for FC Barcelona, FC Porto,...
.
In 2009, Mendes was reported to have made £4 million from Ronaldo's £80 million transfer from Manchester United to Real Madrid.
Bébé Transfer
In August 2010, the football agent Gonçalo Reis complained that he had been left on the sidelines when BébéBébé
Bébé is a 2008 French comedy film written and directed by Clément Michel and starring Clément Michel, Marie Denarnaud, Olivier Clastre and Audrey Fleurot....
, a player he represented, was transferred to Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
from Vitória de Guimarães. "When [Jorge] Mendes arrived," he said, "I was out of the transaction." Reis had arranged Bébé's move to Vitória from Estrela da Amadora in the Portuguese third division in July 2010 after the cancellation of his contract due to the club's inability to pay the player's wages. Manchester United signed Bébé for a reported fee of £7.4 million five weeks later. United's manager, Alex Ferguson
Alex Ferguson
Sir Alexander Chapman "Alex" Ferguson, CBE is a Scottish association football manager and former player, currently managing Manchester United, where he has been in charge since 1986...
, admitted that he had not seen Bébé play.
Gestifute apparently received 30 percent of the transfer fee for their part ownership of the player's economic rights. Vitória's directors reported that Mendes had received €3.6 million of the €9 million fee from the deal, with reports in Portugal suggesting that €2.7 million of that sum came from the 30 percent of the player's economic rights initially retained by Bébé but bought from the player by Mendes for €100,000.
Emilio Macedo, the President of the Guimarães club, called Mendes, "The bulwark of this transfer" and defended the agent, saying, "With all due respect to other agents, this country owes him a lot because he handles large transfers and brings money into the country because this is like an export."
Bébé had reportedly been recommended to Manchester United by Carlos Queiroz
Carlos Queiroz
Carlos Manuel Brito Leal Queiroz ComIH is a Portuguese football manager. He is currently the manager of the Iran national football team. A former manager of Real Madrid, and Portugal national football team, he has also twice been Alex Ferguson's assistant manager at English club Manchester...
, who had two spells as assistant manager at the club, and managed the Portuguese national side. His relationship with United had been important in the transfers of Anderson and Nani in 2007.
Gestifute and CAA
In 2008, GestiFute announced that it had entered into partnership with Creative Artists Agency (CAA) in the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
to "create global opportunities for current and future clients" as part of the CAA's expansion into the sports market.