“THE Gestifute, to date, has already brought almost 3,000 million euros to Portugal. Maybe the second most important agent in the world could have taken a maximum of 500 million euros to his country”, revealed the agent, on Friday, during the ‘Leading the Game’ conference, at the Catholic University, in Porto.
Jorge Mendes considered that the size reached by Gestifute, a company he created 30 years ago, demonstrates the importance of international relations in a market in which Portugal, despite its small population, is able to generate significant amounts.
“We live in a small country, we have 10 million inhabitants, we know our reality, but, in this industry, the most important thing is relationships and credibility”, he stated.
The businessman recalled that, at the beginning of his career, he only knew a few people from the clubs’ scouting departments, having progressively built a network of contacts through travel and negotiations.
“Nowadays, at a global level, my doors are open everywhere. I know everyone, but to get to this point, it took a lot of work, a lot of sacrifice and a lot of travel. But the motto is that ‘nothing is impossible'”, he highlighted.
As an example of the initial difficulties, he recounted the process that took former midfielder Costinha, then in the Portuguese third division, to Monaco, after a failed attempt to join Valencia.
Mendes explained that the Spanish club intended to loan the midfielder to Villarreal, a solution he refused, ending up getting, through scouting contacts, an opportunity at the Monegasque emblem.
“I asked for an opportunity, please, to let him stay for a week, but they said no, that Monaco wouldn’t sign a 23-year-old player from the Portuguese third division. After a week, they said to bring him in”, he recalled.
According to the businessman, it only took three days of training for Jean Tigana to decide to sign Costinha for four seasons, beginning a journey that would later take him to FC Porto and the European conquests of 2003 and 2004.
The need to protect clubs’ investments was another of the principles highlighted by Mendes, who recalled the return of Ricardo Quaresma from Barcelona to FC Porto.
“FC Porto tried to buy him for two or three million. I said no. If they wanted to buy him, they had to pay exactly what Barcelona had paid”, he said, noting that the winger would end up being transferred to Inter Milan for around 30 million.
The agent also mentioned striker Pedro Neto, currently playing for Chelsea, in the transfer from Sporting de Braga to Lazio, in Italy, when he had only a few minutes of use in the main team, in a deal in which Mendes’ belief was decisive.
“It cost 20 million euros, it was a lot of money for a player nobody knew. But I told the sporting director (of Lazio), to believe in me and to buy him, because I realized he had talent. Then, they sold him (to Wolverhampton) for another three million”, he shared
At the same conference, the president of the Portuguese Professional Football League, Reinaldo Teixeira, highlighted the economic weight of the sport, pointing out a contribution of 956 million euros to the national economy, around 300 million in taxes and more than 6,300 direct jobs.
The initiative also served to present the Executive MBA in Football, developed by the Católica Porto School of Business and Economics and the Liga Portugal Business School, the first edition of which begins in November.
The director of Católica Porto SBE, João Pinto, highlighted that it will be the first executive MBA in football to begin with international accreditation from the Association of MBAs (AMBA), aiming to train leaders capable of reconciling sporting performance, financial sustainability and strategic vision.
