Johnny Phillips: Jorge Mendes is still the main man for Fosun at Wolves
The imminent transfer of Ruben Neves to Al Hilal confirms Gestifute’s standing as a key component in Fosun’s plans for Wolves. Any suggestion that Jorge Mendes’ influence at Molineux is waning can be dismissed with the most significant outgoing transfer in the club’s history.
Earlier this month Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, run by Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, announced a takeover of four of the country’s biggest football clubs – Al Nassr, Al Hilal, Al Ahli and champions Al Ittihad.
By coming under control of the Public Investment Fund (PIF), the Gulf kingdom has begun the process of privatising the Saudi Professional League (SPL) whose clubs have traditionally been under the authority of the Ministry of Sports, who routinely wrote off their debts.
This is part of the country’s Vision 2030 initiative to diversify its economy and develop culture and sport. The shift to a commercial operation, aimed at growth and competitiveness while attracting private sector investment, will have huge implications for world football. We have already seen some headline transfers to the SPL but Neves is the first genuine star yet to reach his full potential to take the plunge. It will be fascinating to see how the move plays out and where he ends up next.
Front and centre of the deal is Mendes. Less than a handful of figures in global transfer business could command complete control over a move in the way the Portuguese agent has orchestrated this deal between two clubs on two different continents.
For Mendes, the opening of the Saudi Arabian market has been a long time coming. A decade ago he secured the transfer of former Chelsea winger Ricardo Quaresma and SC Braga’s Hugo Viana to Arabian Gulf League club Shabab Al Ahli, in the United Arab Emirates. Gestifute and Porto-based agency DNN Sport had just formed a fledgling partnership aimed at securing a foothold in the Middle East and this was the early fruit of their labour.
Growth in the region has been slow and steady. Qatar’s attempts to gain influence through last year’s World Cup were met with a mixed reception, but it is this privatisation in the SPL which has become a game changer. Mendes moved manager Nuno Espirito Santo into Al Ittihad last summer and former Wolves forward Helder Costa quickly followed.
