Meet Jorge Mendes The transfer superagent

The transfer kingmaker behind the summer's biggest deals has become one of the most powerful men in football and he's set to have a major say on some of the biggest transfer deals of the summer window. The most powerful dealmakers in football are already lining up their big summer paydays.
Jorge Mendes, the most influential of them all, may not rake in as much as he made last year, but he is still hoping to broker some of the biggest transfers including David De Gea's anticipated move to Real Madrid and Radamel Falcao's proposed switch to Chelsea.

Mino Raiola, another in the group, could secure a mega-money transfer for his star client Paul , whether that is to Barcelona, Manchester City or Paris Saint-Germain.
These are the power brokers behind football's elite, the men that the world's biggest clubs are all desperate to get on their side.
Mendes, though, is the kingmaker.
In three months last summer, Mendes was involved in transfers worth a total of £230 million and pocketed a cut of around £30m for his part in deals involving Falcao, Angel Di Maria, James Rodriguez, Diego Costa and Eliaquim Mangala.
Even by his standards, it was an exceptional summer's work for a man who also boasts Cristiano Ronaldo and Jose Mourinho among his clients and has brokered more than £1 billion worth of deals in his time as a super agent.
"Jorge Mendes is the best agent I dealt with, without a doubt. He was responsible, looked after his players to an incredible extent and was very fair with clubs," was Sir Alex Ferguson's glowing assessment of the 49-year-old in his autobiography.
Through his company, Gestifute, Mendes has become perhaps the most powerful person in football. He is trusted by his players and club officials alike, known for his well-cut suits, his disarming charm and the four phones he carries with him at all times.
He started 20 years ago as a nightclub owner in the Portuguese town of Caminha and wasn't even paid for his first deal, when he helped his friend, goalkeeper Nuno Espirito Santo, move to Deportivo La .
"Jorge never took a cent from me, although we'd agreed he'd get a bonus," said Nuno. "He tore up the under my eyes, saying he'd never cash it."
But Mendes has made plenty of cash since and, by dealing chiefly with elite clubs, he can often control where the top-level players and coaches end up. After Manchester United signed Ronaldo in 2003, such a strong relationship was formed that they went on to buy , Anderson and Bebe. More recent acquisitions looked after by Mendes include Falcao, Di Maria and De Gea.
In both of Mourinho's spells at Chelsea, he has been followed to Bridge by a number of Mendes clients including last summer's £32m transfer of Costa from Atletico Madrid, another club with strong ties to Gestifute.
Mendes started his path to dominance of the European transfer market first through his influence at the three biggest clubs in Portugal: Porto, Benfica and Sporting Lisbon.
William Carvalho, the 23-year-old Sporting midfielder, is just one player who could be on the move this summer amid interest from several leading European clubs including Arsenal.
Portugal is also Mendes's entry point for South American players that he subsequently attempts to move on to one of the European giants.
He is the agent of choice at Monaco - where he took James Rodriguez, Falcao and Joao - and , where his first client Nuno was appointed manager last year and players represented by Gestifute soon followed.
At Real Madrid he boasts Ronaldo, Rodriguez, Pepe and Fabio Coentrao among his clients, with De Gea soon to join them at the Santiago Bernabeu after informing United of his desire to move to the Spanish club.
It is a powerful network for a man who grew up in a working class community in Lisbon and would make money by working in the local flea market and selling straw hats on the beach. Now, he travels mostly by private jet and with his wife Sandra often by his side.
There are areas of Mendes's business that lack transparency, not least the links with third-party ownership in his role as an advisor to Quality Sports Investments, a Jersey-based fund in which investors buy "economic rights" in players.
Mendes is hugely trusted by his clients and is happy to manage virtually every aspect of their lives. He calls Gestifute a 'family'. "I trust him completely," Ronaldo once said. "I'd feel happy to put everything I have in his hands."
Mendes's influence over his players' transfer moves can also be rather concerning. Costa's story of his move from Braga to Atletico Madrid at the age of 19 suggests he had little say in the deal.
"Jorge told me I had to get a flight to Madrid, I knew nothing of what was going on and when we arrived he told me I was signing for Atletico Madrid," explained the Chelsea striker. "We were in the house of Atletico sporting director Jesus Garcia Pitcarch, and I didn't even know who he was."
But Costa is now one of the best strikers in the world and playing for the Premier League champions. He is just one example of why Jorge Mendes will remain the most important figure in the transfer market at the top table.
Source: Goal.com