Jorge Mendes and the double-edged sword: A reason for Portugal's success, but the Primeira Liga's decline?

Portuguese superagent Jorge Mendes wields power like few others in the global game of football. Operating in an empire of his own design, he is the master of the market. But with so much power comes division and controversy, and the man that some herald a hero is also widely loathed.

Mendes’ control over the transfer market cannot be overstated. Having overseen some of the biggest transfers in world football, his operations have earned him notoriety worldwide, and has in particular reshaped and redefined the Portuguese market in a seemingly irreversible way.

Having monopolised much of the talent within the Portuguese game, there is a point to be made that much of the success of the future of the Portugal national team rests in the hands of Jorge Mendes, who is tasked with navigating the careers of many of the biggest prospects coming through the ranks.

And it is true to say that his influence has undeniable positives. Jorge Mendes, after all, has opened the door for some of Portugal’s most promising talents to move abroad and ply their trade in more competitive leagues to refine their game and become world superstars.

Having helped players move to the likes of the English Premier League, Spanish La Liga and German Bundesliga to a level we have never really seen before, Portugal have a massive national pool of talent for Fernando Santos to choose from, with Portuguese players forming a crucial part of many highly prestigious clubs across Europe.

It is no coincidence that the rise of Jorge Mendes has coincided with the rise of the Portugal national team, who have become a global powerhouse in the sport, one of the most revered - and feared - national sides in the game despite the country’s relatively small population. Portuguese players are scattered across the globe in some of the world’s most reputable leagues, and that is only increasing the prestige of the Portuguese Primeira Liga.

Of course, Jorge Mendes is only a small part in Portugal’s fantastic success in recent years. With quality managers who have the professionalism and mentality to succeed and get the best out of the players at their disposal, alongside the most illustrious scouting systems and academies in world football to help identify and nurture some of the most promising young players from a population that are obssessed with the beautiful game, Portugal have a setup that is worthy of great success - and they are reaping the rewards.

Ultimately, though, Mendes has played a role. His reputation and ability to move players out of Europe in such volumes means that Portuguese clubs are able to sell some of their star players for huge sums of money, making considerable profits while also able to remain relatively competitve on the European stage by bringing through more home-grown academy players to play alongside a large handful of slightly more experienced stars that have been brought in for reasonable prices from overseas, more often than not from South America.

But Mendes’ power also comes with significant negative consequences for the Portuguese game. While the national team is thriving, the domestic league has been faultering. And Mendes has riled up plenty of clubs in Portugal as a result.

Recent transfers are perhaps the best example. FC Porto have, in the space of just a couple of days, permitted the departure of two of their biggest academy products in Fabio Silva and Vitinha. Vitinha was the sale that perhaps hurt the most, seen by many as one of the most accomplished midfielders to ever come through the academy, while Fabio Silva, although a very disappointing sale, did bring in a very healthy 40 million euros. And you could argue that, without Mendes, they would have struggled to get that much for a player unproven at senior level.

It also looks like they’re going to lose Afonso Sousa to Belenenses for free - a player that also showed so much promise in the academy. So there’s plenty of disappointment among fans of Porto that they are disbanding their extraordinary youth team - which won the UEFA Youth League in 2019 - before they have even had the chance to represent the senior team. And the fingers are almost exclusively being pointed at Jorge Mendes.

Porto, it seems, are prioritising the present over the future - which is not a terrible idea. They need to bring in funds this window, and had to choose whether to try and keep hold of their key first-team players, or prioritise the future. They chose the former.

If they keep hold of their current crop of senior players, they will be confident that they can have a successful season and compete with heavy-spending Benfica, while they also know that the next batch of youngster will be coming through over the next few years, so their future and their quality academy should still be preserved. But it doesn’t take away from the fact that quality players have been, and are, leaving the Portuguese Primeira Liga in their droves - and it has hugely impacted the quality of the league, and the teams within it.

It’s been several years now since we saw teams from Portugal actually properly competing to lift one of the Champions League or Europa League trophies. Often one or two teams get relatively far in one of the tournaments, to the quarter finals perhaps or, on the odd occasion, maybe the semis. But they always go into these competitions as underdogs, and rarely look capable of competing with the very best sides.

This season, that could be changing. Benfica strengthened their team hugely and have assembled a side of the calibre of a high-quality European outfit, while Braga, Sporting and Porto have also strengthened, albeit far more shrewdly. Then the mid-table clubs are showing ambition that we’ve not really seen in recent years, so there does appear to be some great quality in Portugal for the upcoming campaign.

That said, it can be argued that Mendes has played his part in the downfall of the Portuguese giants on the continental stage, even if he has also been integral to the growth and success of the national side. It’s difficult to have your cake and eat it, and the league has suffered at the expense of boasting a national team that is one of the very best on the planet.

Jorge Mendes. Photo author: Bendoni communication. License link.