Jorge Mendes has reportedly pocketed a sizeable fee from brokering Fabio Vieira's move to Arsenal from Porto after the midfielder completed his transfer on Saturday.
Vieira has penned a five-year deal ahead of his switch to the Emirates after the Gunners agreed to pay £30million up front, with a further £4m in add-ons. The 22-year-old scored seven goals and registered 14 assists for Porto as the Portuguese giants clinched the title ahead of rivals Sporting and Benfica.
But reports in Portugal suggest that Porto will not receive the entire fee as part of their agreement with Mendes. A Bola claim that Mendes will take a 10 per cent cut of the final amount, amounting to £3.4m, with Porto taking the remaining £30.6m to add to their coffers.
In the specific case of helping Vieira move to north London, there was an agreement struck between the agent and Porto that meant any transfer that exceeded €30m (£25.8m) would see half of the difference would be paid to Mendes. In this case, the transfer exceeded the agreed value.
Likewise, his involvement in the deal that saw Vitinha, formerly on the books of Wolves and a target for Arsenal, join PSG for £35m.
It means Mendes stands to earn around €13.5m from both deals (£11.6m), highlighting his incredible ability to encourage clubs and players to sign on the dotted line.
The super agent holds significant influence over dealings in the European transfer market, particularly in his native Portugal, with hundreds of players signed to his Gestifute agency. His impressive roster of players includes Cristiano Ronaldo, Joao Cancelo, Fabinho and Diogo Jota.
Several clubs are thought to have close links with Mendes in terms of the players they sign, with Wolves a prime example. Since Mendes helped the club capture Ruben Neves back in 2017, the Midlands outfit have spent over £150m on Portuguese players.
However, Arsenal only deal with Mendes when they are chasing a player on his client list and landed Vieira in a swift transfer after their interest came somewhat out of the blue.
Have Your Say! Is Jorge Mendes' influence over the transfer market a negative for football? Comment below.
And the Portugal international says he is happy to realise his ambition of playing in England.
“I was always happy at Porto but this chance is important for any professional," he said, as reported exclusively by The Mirror. “Playing in the Premier League won’t be easy and I promise only to work, work, work.
"My agent worked on the deal between the two clubs and I accepted the deal because it was important for all parties. I have always watched the Premier League on TV."
