01-12-2009, 07:21 AM
His agent is Jorge Mendes, for what it's worth.
Mendes has come from nowhere in the past decade to challenge Pini Zahavi as the most powerful — and, subsequently, richest — agent in the world, his rise accelerating steeply after he negotiated José Mourinho’s move to Chelsea five years ago. Crucial to his success has been his willingness to co-operate with established agents such as Zahavi and the pair have worked in tandem to take control of the supply of South American talent to the biggest European clubs.
Mendes’s initial forays into business after giving up on a professional career were less ambitious, the 43-year-old opening a series of bars, nightclubs and a video rental store before a chance encounter changed his life. Mendes met his first client, Nuno, in a bar in Guimarães, a small city in the north west of Portugal, and in 1996 brokered the goalkeeper’s move to Deportivo La Coruña.
That deal secured his reputation as a man who could open doors and he gradually attracted more players, Jorge Andrade, the defender, being first big client and Hugo Viana’s move to Newcastle United six years ago his first big international transfer.
It was by securing Mourinho’s move to Chelsea from Porto — outflanking his existing agent, José Baidek, in the process — that Mendes reached a new level and established himself as the go-to man for Europe’s biggest clubs.
With a reputation for honesty and charm, Mendes did the deal that took Luiz Felipe Scolari to Chelsea last summer, and last month he agreed the contract with Inter Milan that made Mourinho the highest-paid coach in the world.
The apprentice is close to surpassing his master.
Source: Timesonline
Mendes has come from nowhere in the past decade to challenge Pini Zahavi as the most powerful — and, subsequently, richest — agent in the world, his rise accelerating steeply after he negotiated José Mourinho’s move to Chelsea five years ago. Crucial to his success has been his willingness to co-operate with established agents such as Zahavi and the pair have worked in tandem to take control of the supply of South American talent to the biggest European clubs.
Mendes’s initial forays into business after giving up on a professional career were less ambitious, the 43-year-old opening a series of bars, nightclubs and a video rental store before a chance encounter changed his life. Mendes met his first client, Nuno, in a bar in Guimarães, a small city in the north west of Portugal, and in 1996 brokered the goalkeeper’s move to Deportivo La Coruña.
That deal secured his reputation as a man who could open doors and he gradually attracted more players, Jorge Andrade, the defender, being first big client and Hugo Viana’s move to Newcastle United six years ago his first big international transfer.
It was by securing Mourinho’s move to Chelsea from Porto — outflanking his existing agent, José Baidek, in the process — that Mendes reached a new level and established himself as the go-to man for Europe’s biggest clubs.
With a reputation for honesty and charm, Mendes did the deal that took Luiz Felipe Scolari to Chelsea last summer, and last month he agreed the contract with Inter Milan that made Mourinho the highest-paid coach in the world.
The apprentice is close to surpassing his master.
Source: Timesonline