Top 20 transfers brokered by super-agent Jorge Mendes. Including Chelsea star and former Manchester United star…
Although he is largely anonymous, Jorge Mendes is the man behind most of the footballing world’s biggest transfers.
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It has been suggested that the Portuguese agent has far too much power in the game today, with the former nightclub owner having interests in almost every big club in Europe.
Here are the super-agent’s top 20 biggest transfers in football:
20) Cristiano Ronaldo – £12m – Sporting Lisbon to Manchester United
This transfer in 2003 set in motion the career of one of the world’s finest ever footballing talents.
Looking back now £12m is a bargain for a player of Ronaldo’s quality and a number of other managers have lamented missing out on the Portuguese sensation.
19) Paulo Ferreira – £13.2m – FC Porto to Chelsea
Following former Porto boss Jose Mourinho’s move to the Blues, Ferreira followed suit in 2004 and stayed with the current Premier League leaders for nine long years.
He won three domestic titles as well as a Champions League during his time at Stamford Bridge.
18) Simao Sabrosa – £16.5m – Benfica to Atletico Madrid
Despite a number of suitors, Simao eventually made the switch to Atletico in 2007.
He has missed out on their most recent success in La Liga, but he did win the Europa League with the Spanish champions.
17) Ricardo Carvalho – £20m – FC Porto to Chelsea
Striking up an excellent partnership with captain John Terry when he joined in 2004, the pair helped the London side to back-to-back Premier League titles.
Eventually made the switch to Real Madrid after six successful years with the West Londoners.
16) Angel di Maria – £21m – Benfica to Real Madrid
A 22-year-old di Maria made the dream move to Madrid in 2010. He has now joined Manchester United in a British record deal, but he will surely be content with La Liga and Champions League titles he won while in the Spanish capital.
15) Joao Moutinho – £22m – FC Porto to AS Monaco
In a somewhat controversial switch, Moutinho headed to Monaco in 2013.
The transfer was under scrutiny due to Porto allegedly trying to find loopholes in one of their players’ contracts by including two men in one deal.
The French runners-up don’t seem to be continuing their spending spree this year – is the former Porto man regretting his decision?
14) Nani – £22.4m – Sporting Lisbon to Manchester United
Thought at the time to be the next Ronaldo, Nani followed in his compatriot’s footsteps and made the switch to United in 2007.
He showed glimpses of what he was capable of, but his inconsistency and often selfish nature eventually led to him being shipped out on-loan back to Sporting.
13) Pepe – £24m – Porto to Real Madrid
Madrid’s long serving defender first made the switch to Spain in 2007.
The controversial and aggressive defender has won two La Liga titles and a Champions League trophy during his time with the club, although may be remembered most for his frequent red cards and poor behaviour on the field.
12) Fabio Coentrao – £26.4m – Benfica to Real Madrid
After an impressive World Cup showing in 2010, Coentrao made the switch to the Spanish capital.
He has been a bit part player for Los Blancos since joining, but seems content to forgo regular football in exchange for the many accolades he was won.
11) Anderson – £27m – Porto to Manchester United
Out of all of the Mendes’ orchestrated transfers, Anderson to United is probably the only one that was truly a flop.
He looked like having the potential to be the future of United’s midfield, but instead disappeared into obscurity.
He is still on the payroll to this day, despite a number of unsuccessful attempts to offload him.
10) Radamel Falcao – £32m – FC Porto to Atletico Madrid
In the first of several big money moves, Falcao made the jump from Portuguese side Porto to La Liga Champions Atleti in 2011.
His goalscoring record at the Vicente Calderon Stadium was absolutely superb, netting 70 goals in 91 appearances for the Spanish side.
9) Eliaquim Mangala – £32m – Porto to Manchester City
City have been struggling to find an adequate centre-back to partner Vincent Kompany in recent years and Mangala is seen as the perfect addition.
Many consider the £32m fee to be somewhat inflated, but if he can grant stability at the back for the Premier League champions then it will be money well spent.
8) Diego Costa – £32m – Atletico Madrid to Chelsea
Costa has had an unbelievable impact on the Premier League already, scoring nine goals in his opening seven league games.
If he continues in this vein of form he is sure to fire the Blues to yet another domestic title.
7) Sergio Aguero – £38m – Atletico Madrid to Manchester City
Arguably one of the best strikers in the English top tier at the moment. Aguero joined the Citizens at the perfect time; when the cash rich team were reaching the height of their powers and starting to really challenge for titles.
The Argentine scored the last minute goal which sealed the title for his new club in 2012 and continues to lead from the front with an exceptional record for the side.
6) James Rodriguez – £38.5m – FC Porto to AS Monaco
Clearly a star of the future, despite the hefty fee Monaco could consider Rodriguez a solid investment.
After proving himself one of the most promising talents in the Portuguese league during his three year spell, he moved to the Principality for just a season before heading to the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu.
5) Radamel Falcao – £6.7m loan fee – AS Monaco to Manchester United
Although currently not netting the super-agent a massive fee, the potential for a permanent move to United at the end of the season could bring him in a massive amount, with a fee reported to be in the region of £45m.
4) Radamel Falcao – £52.8m – Atletico Madrid to AS Monaco
Falcao made this shock move back in 2013 when Monaco were spending money like it was going out of fashion.
Injury disrupted his season with the French club, but he still managed an impressive 13 goals in 22 games.
3) Angel di Maria – £59.7m – Real Madrid to Manchester United
Despite being seen as an integral part of a superb Madrid side, di Maria was let go this summer by La Liga giants.
In a British record transfer he made the move to Old Trafford and has arguably looked their best players so far this season.
With such a hefty fee you would expect an excellent return and the Argentine seems to be delivering already.
2) James Rodriguez – £71m – AS Monaco to Real Madrid
Despite only moving to Monaco a season ago, the youngster always looked like moving after a fantastic 2014 World Cup display showed that he was destined for bigger and better things.
Madrid came knocking in the summer, and sure enough he was on the move. The Colombian became the newest Galactico and Mendes’ second most expensive transfer in history.
1) Cristiano Ronaldo – £80m – Manchester United to Real Madrid
One of, if not the, most famous transfers in football history, Ronaldo made the sensational switch to the Bernabeu in 2009 after a number of successful years with the Red Devils.
His goalscoring exploits are now world famous, with the Portuguese star scoring better than a goal a game with the Spanish giants.