From humble beginnings in his homeland the Portuguese, Jorge Mendes has grown to become football’s definitive super agent and one of the game’s most powerful men
“Jorge Mendes is the best agent I dealt with, without a doubt. He was responsible, looked after his player and was very fair with clubs” – Sir Alex Ferguson.
With those words in mind, it’s easy to understand why Jorge Mendes has become arguably the most powerful man in world football.
He looks after a number of the world’s elite footballers, is called in by clubs who need to get deals done, was involved in an astonishing 68 per cent of transfers involving Portugal’s big three (Sporting, Benfica, Porto) between 2001 and 2010 and has played a key behind-the-scenes role in the recent resuscitations of Deportivo La Coruna, Atletico Madrid, Valencia and Monaco.
It’s all been some journey for the so-called super-agent, since meeting first client Nuno in a Guimaraes bar in 1996 and brokering his move to Deportivo.
But what of his current stable? Precisely how good are the players he looks after? Let our squad of Mendes clients ease your mind…
David de Gea
The Spanish stopper has matured into an outstanding goalkeeper at Old Trafford since joining from Atletico Madrid. Alas, it appears it’s now all set to come to an end, with De Gea wanting to return to his homeland with Real Madrid.
Mendes is brokering that, obviously. But what is perhaps less well known is that he also played a role in the deal that took Madrid legend Iker Casillas to Porto this summer.
Nicolas Otamendi
Want to know just how powerful Mendes is? Well, the Argentine isn’t a client of his Gestifute agency.
But as Valencia and Man City got down to the nitty-gritty over a deal for the defender, the Spanish club called in Mendes to act as a mediator and in a bid to get the deal done. For the balance of our side, we’re sliding him over to right-back.
Thiago Silva
One of the world’s best defenders, Mendes played a key role in smoothing the way for the Thiago Silva to leave AC Milan and join PSG for a mammoth £29million.
Nobody ever really talks of Silva’s disappointing spell at Porto anymore do they, a sign of the upturn his career has taken under Mendes’ stewardship.
Ezequiel Garay
So Nicolas Otamendi leaves a hole in the Valencia defence does he? Don’t worry, because Mendes is likely to move another of his clients over to the Mestalla to help out Los Che owner (and his friend) Peter Lim, in the shape of his international teammate Garay.
Garay linked up with Mendes in March 2013, during his time in Portugal with Benfica, as he sought to move his career to the next level. 18 months later, he made a big-money move to Zenit, making him the best paid defender in Russia.
Fabio Coentrao
The Real Madrid star hails from the coastal village of Caxinas and says that until he met Mendes, he never even thought about a career in professional football.
“I know that I am where I am today because of Jorge,” says Coentrao, in ‘The Key to Mendes’.
“Without him right now, I wouldn’t be a footballer, I’d be working in the sea.
William Carvalho
A coming force of European football if the Twitter scouts are to be believed, but still the holding midfielder remains at Sporting.
Spotted by Mendes playing at junior levels, he’s carefully looking after the Portuguese international, trying not to push him into a move to soon, while his high release clause remains prohibitive.
Joao Moutinho
The Portuguese international is a long-term client of Mendes. Having been spotted playing youth football in Lisbon, Mendes has been instrumental in guiding Moutinho’s career, first from Sporting to Porto, then through to Monaco in 2013.
He remains in the Principality, where Mendes has become increasingly vital in conducting deals, as an increasing number of Gestifute clients pass through the Stade Louis II.
James Rodriguez
In recent years, Real Madrid have spent over £250million on Gestifute players, with the biggest figure since Cristiano Ronaldo’s 2009 world record being splashed on Colombian star James Rodriguez.
Having swapped Porto for Monaco in 2013, his dazzling displays at the World Cup in 2014 made him the Spanish giants chief target that summer. Within days of the tournament ending, his move begun a major summer on the Mendes merry-go round.
Angel Di Maria
Angel Di Maria may not have seen his big money move to Manchester United work out, but after his frustrations grew and he decided to leave, Mendes ensured PSG didn’t miss out on his signature for a second successive summer.
Di Maria has cost Benfica, Real Madrid, United and PSG over £125million with his four career moves…assuming Mendes’ fee of 10 per cent, that’s a cool £12.5million for he and his agency.
Cristiano Ronaldo
Signed up by Mendes while still a youth-team player at Sporting Lisbon, Mendes oversaw Ronaldo’s move to Manchester United in 2003 and has acted on behalf of the Real Madrid star ever since.
It’s believed that the relationship between the 30-year-old and Mendes has grown to such an extent that Ronaldo acted as best man at Mendes’ wedding in Porto earlier this month. Oh, and he may have bought him a small Greek Island too.
Diego Costa
The Spanish striker, now a £32million force of fury at Chelsea, was just a 19-year-old when Mendes told him to back his bags because he was leaving Portugal.
“Jorge told me I had to get a flight to Madrid, I knew nothing of what was going on and when we arrived he told me I was signing for Atlético Madrid,” he says. “We were in the house of Atlético sporting director Jesús García Pitcarch, and I didn’t even know who he was.”
After persevering via a number of loan moves, Costa eventually made his mark at the Vicente Calderon – before leaving for plenty of cash in 2014.
Among the others
And there are plenty of other star names on Mendes’ client list, who would make a fine bench for our Mendes XI.
Leading off are Premier League duo Radamel Falcao and Eliaquim Mangala, while another Real Madrid star, Pepe, would add further steel.
Real Sociedad’s Mexican star Carlos Vela is another, while there are also three young Portuguese stars who Mendes will likely be guiding to the pinnacle of European football in the coming years: Valencia’s Andre Gomes, Monaco’s Bernardo Silva and Porto starlet Thiago Neves.
Manager – Jose Mourinho
Jose Mourinho and Mendes have worked together for a considerable period and when the Special One first pitched up at Stamford Bridge in 2004, it was Mendes who brokered the deal.
When Mourinho sought to surround himself in west London with familiar faces, he hired Tiago Mendes, Ricardo Carvalho and Paulo Ferreira: All clients of Mendes. It’s a pattern that has followed, whether at Inter, Madrid or back at Chelsea now.
