Express & Star

Revealed: £9m of Wolves' record transfer fee going to agents

More than £9million of the £35m club-record fee Wolves paid for Porto striker Fabio Silva is going to agents, according to the Portuguese club.

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In a statement to the Portuguese Securities Market Commission, Porto said they are paying Jorge Mendes’ Gestifute agency £6.4m as part of the transfer.

They also stated a further £2.75m will be paid to Soccer Talents Vision (STV) – the agency which represents Silva.

Porto, by the statement, stand to receive around £26m.

Wolves have close ties to Mendes and his Gestifute agency.

And according to Porto’s statement, a sizeable chunk of Wolves’ record transfer fee is said to be making its way to his organisation, even though he is not Silva’s agent.

Boss Nuno Espirito Santo is a client of Mendes.

Players Rui Patricio, Ruben Neves, Diogo Jota, Joao Moutinho, Daniel Podence, Pedro Neto and new arrival Vitinha are also signed to Gestifute.

Silva joined Wolves last weekend on a five-year contract, with the fee eclipsing the £32m spent to bring Raul Jimenez in from Benfica last summer.

Chairman Jeff Shi said upon completing the deal: “We’ve been following Fabio’s development for a long time.

"He’s a player that you only need several minutes to see his natural football talent. In recent years, Fabio has been developing very fast and now has proven himself in Porto’s first team, which is a top squad.

“Our head coach’s requirement for quality is very high, but he thinks Fabio is an important signing who will help the team immediately this season.

“The timing of this deal is similar to the timing of when we bought Neves; we’ve waited for the right time to get a high-quality player at the right price.”

Meanwhile, Silva said: “I chose Wolves because I, and the people who are with me, think this is the best project for me. Playing in the Premier League is a dream for every player and I’m not an exception.”