Express & Star

Wolves blog: The Jorge Mendes Wolves saga ends…for now

Wednesday saw the end of any glimmering hope rival teams had of seeing Wolves punished for their relationship with Jorge Mendes.

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The EFL confirmed the super-agent holds no official role at the club, and therefore Wolves cannot be punished for any wrongdoing.

The saga is now put to bed, as clubs like Aston Villa and Leeds, who have publicly criticised Wolves, no longer have a leg to stand on.

Questioning the relationship between Wolves and Mendes, you would have to concede, is probably justified – from the outside, you can see how the fact Wolves have signed the likes of Ruben Neves, Diogo Jota and Willy Boly might seem ‘unfair’.

But the way their rivals have conducted their witch hunt in the open is very unflattering to such huge clubs – Villa CEO Keith Wyness shared an old BBC Sport article about Paul Lambert’s sacking, whilst Leeds owner Andrea Radrizzani claimed the relationship was 'not legal'.

A case was opened by the EFL after formal complaints also took place – but these have been put to bed.

Wolves have remained one hundred per cent dignified throughout the saga, stating they are confident there is no wrongdoing and not rising to the bait.

In the way Chelsea and then Man City rose to the top of English football via money, Wolves are attempting to make the climb up to the upper echelons of football.

Other than doing a Leicester, in what was a one-off season, is there any other way of doing it?

Wolves have simply made use of a good contact – perhaps the best contact to have in football – and have signed some superb players in deals which have been favourable to the club.

And why wouldn’t you, if that advantage was being offered?

Wolves have always been competent users of the loan with a view to purchase – in League One, James Henry and Michael Jacobs were superb signings made permanent.

But Wolves have done it with Helder Costa, and the group of current loanees at the club are all ready to join in deals which suit the club financially.

Wolves can expect more shots from Premier League clubs from this summer onwards – they aren’t going to like the fact a club with pulling power are arriving, with the potential to take their seat at the top table.

Wolves fans chanting Jorge Mendes’ name is probably unprecedented in football.

The question is – to play devil’s advocate – what happens when he starts to tee up moves for our players to leave Molineux?

We know how Mendes has his fingers in many pies around Europe, and there are infographics available on Twitter which show the movement of players from his ‘stable’ between these clubs.

So far, it has only been incoming deals for Wolves, but what happens when the likes of Neves are moved on?

We knew what we were getting in to when Wolves were taken over by an investment company, and

we know what Mendes is about – fans of other clubs, such as Valencia, warned Mendes could ‘ruin’ our club two summers ago when the takeover was completed.

The slight difference with Wolves is the relationship is more binding, with his Gestifute agency being tied in to Fosun, or Guo Guangchang, financially.

There is a likelihood Mendes will play a part in moving some of our star players on – but there will be more where they came from, and we have to trust Fosun in wanting to get Wolves to the top.