Indonesia
Nigeria
South Africa

All 19 Mendes players signed by Wolves as club splash out over £300m on talent

mirror.co.uk, 18 August 2022, 12:54
Matheus Nunes became the latest Jorge Mendes player to join Wolves as he made the big money switch from Sporting Lisbon, becoming the 22nd client to sign for the West Midlands side Matheus Nunes was confirmed as a Wolves player on Wednesday

Wolves continued their impressive streak of signing highly-talented Portuguese stars when they announced the arrival of Matheus Nunes from Sporting Lisbon.

The attacking midfielder became the club's record signing in a deal worth around £38million on Wednesday night. He is their third summer addition following Goncalo Guedes and Nathan Collins' moves to Molineux, with Bruno Lage now searching for a forward to add to his squad before the end of the window.

Nunes' arrival, however, was aided by super agent Jorge Mendes, who continues to help surge through moves to the West Midlands club. Wolves have signed 19 players signed to Mendes' Gestifute agency since the Portuguese started spearheading signings to Molineux. That doesn't include numerous other deals brokered by the super-agent or involving other parts of the Mendes network.

It all started back in 2016 when Helder Costa joined from Benfica for £13m. Ivan Caveleiro followed in the same summer as he made the switch from Monaco. With Nuno Espirito Santo, Mendes' first ever client, becoming the club's new manager in 2017, Wolves would go on to form a stronger bond, starting with five more additions.

Ruben Neves was arguably the biggest one as he arrived on a permanent deal from Porto, before Atletico Madrid's Diogo Jota joined on a loan deal eventually made permanent. Roderick Miranda, Rafa Mir and Ruben Vinagre were amongst the other Mendes-inspired players to join Wolves that year.

Fast forward to 2018 and Wolves had secured a welcome return to the Premier League after a six-year exodus. And they continued to work with Mendes to get many more quality additions over the line. Rui Patricio, Joao Moutinho and Raul Jimenez would join the club and their transfer business paid off, as Wolves finished seventh - subsequently qualifying for the Europa League.

Jimenez made his move permanent in summer 2019 - a £34m pursuit from Benfica in a deal brokered by Mendes. Meanwhile, Pedro Neto and Bruno Jordao joined in a joint summer deal whilst Daniel Podence, also a clients of Mendes, arrived later that season as Wolves splashed the cash ahead of competing in Europe.

The biggest non-Mendes deal up until Collins' switch to Wolves last month was when Patrick Cutrone signed from AC Milan. It is safe to say it didn't work out the way the club wanted it to as the Italian struggled to adapt to English football.

Fabio Silva, who was Wolves' record signing until Nunes' switch, joined for around £35m in 2020. Whilst not represented by Mendes, he was the man who brokered that deal and earned a handsome sum, reported to be around £6.4million, in the process. Nelson Semedo and Rayan Ait-Nouri were the other players to sign that summer, both represented by Mendes. Vitinha also joined on loan before heading back to Porto and since earning a big-money move to Paris Saint-Germain.

That was followed by Jose Sa and Francisco Trincao joining last summer, although the latter has since returned to Barcelona and joined Sporting Lisbon on loan after an unsuccessful spell which did not see him earn a permanent move.

From 2016 to the present day, Wolves have spent around £450m on transfer fees. They have brought in 65 first-team players either permanently or on loan in that time.

Of that £450m, it is estimated around £330m has been spent on players who are either Gestifute clients, or in a deal facilitated by Mendes. That covers 43 of the 65 players Wolves have brought in.

19 Jorge Mendes clients signed by Wolves: Diogo Jota, Goncalo Guedes, Ruben Neves, Pedro Neto, Matheus Nunes, Vitinha, Nelson Semedo, Rayan Ait-Nouri, Daniel Podence, Francisco Trincao, Jose Sa, Rafa Mir, Rui Patricio, Helder Costa, Ivan Cavaleiro, Joao Moutinho, Bruno Jordao, Christian Marques, Roderick Miranda + numerous other deals brokered involving the agent.

Top News

7 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Real Madrid have reportedly turned down the opportunity to sign Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk. 6 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool star Mohamed Salah has hit out at "obsessed" Jamie Carragher amid the uncertainty surrounding his future at Anfield. 6 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Fulham are reportedly prepared to pay up to £40m to sign Manchester City attacker James McAtee in the current transfer window. 6 January 2025 talksport.com Jamie Carragher sent Mohamed Salah a contract plea in response to the Liverpool superstar's joke that he is 'obsessed' with him. 6 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Missed opportunities were the theme in Premier League gameweek 20, and not just if your name is Harry Maguire, as Liverpool failed to increase their lead at the summit of the table when they dropped two points in a pulsating 2-2 draw with Manchester United. 6 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool have been on the lookout for defenders that they could bring to the club, even in the January transfer window, according to Reds expert David Lynch. 6 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Inaki Williams and Nico Williams are expected to return to the starting lineup for Wednesday's Spanish Super Cup semi-final against Barcelona. 6 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Nottingham Forest's remarkable winning run in the Premier League continued on Monday night as they defeated a wasteful Wolverhampton Wanderers side 3-0, marking the first time they have recorded six consecutive top flight victories since 1979. 6 January 2025 talksport.com Casemiro has switched his stance and is now open to a move to Saudi Arabia, talkSPORT understands. 6 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Barcelona will have to assess whether Lamine Yamal is fit to start Wednesday's Spanish Super Cup semi-final in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. 6 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Barcelona have included Dani Olmo and Pau Victor in their Spanish Super Cup squad despite the fact neither are the pair are currently registered to play for the club. 6 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester City expert Steven McInerney from Esteemed Kompany has told Sports Mole that it is "very obvious" that Lens defender Abdukodir Khusanov could complete a transfer to the Etihad Stadium in January. 6 January 2025 talksport.com Nottingham Forest were denied a penalty against Wolverhampton Wanderers after the ball struck Rayan Ait-Nouri's arm in the box. 6 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk has admitted there is unlikely to be any imminent progress on his contract situation. 6 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester United have reportedly been offered the chance to sign Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic in a potential swap deal involving Joshua Zirkzee. 6 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Arda Guler netted a brace as Real Madrid cruised past fourth-tier Deportivo Minera to secure their spot in the Copa del Rey last 16. 6 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk The EFL Cup semi-finals get underway at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday evening, where Arsenal and Newcastle United clash in the first leg of their final-four encounter. 6 January 2025 talksport.com Jurgen Klopp was a notable absentee for Red Bull Salzburg's friendly against Bayern Munich has been revealed. 6 January 2025 talksport.com West Ham's decision to appoint Julen Lopetegui in the first place has was 'stupid' and 'pathetic'. 6 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Benfica and Braga clash for the second time this week at the Estadio da Luz on Wednesday, this time in the semi-finals of the Taca da Liga. 6 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Wolverhampton Wanderers and Nottingham Forest have announced their first XIs for Monday's Premier League game at Molineux. 6 January 2025 talksport.com Chelsea's injury crisis at centre-back could prompt them to attempt to re-sign Marc Guehi, talkSPORT understands. 6 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur have been informed by Lens chief Pierre Dreossi that they must table "good bids" if they are to stand a chance of securing the signature of promising defender Abdukodir Khusanov. 6 January 2025 talksport.com Ex-Liverpool star Daniel Sturridge has been heavily criticised by Simon Jordan for his comments on the future of Trent Alexander-Arnold. 6 January 2025 talksport.com Dutch hero Patrick Kluivert is set to return to the dugout on the international stage. 6 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Jack Grealish is "fighting for his future" at Manchester City and Pep Guardiola's "incredibly brutal" and "really negative" comments spell trouble for the struggling attacker, Citizens expert Steven McInerney from Esteemed Kompany tells Sports Mole. 6 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk After making a losing start to 2025, Tottenham Hotspur's injury-hit side will welcome Liverpool to North London in an EFL Cup semi-final first leg on Wednesday. 6 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk A place in the Spanish Super Cup final will be at stake when Athletic Bilbao take on Barcelona in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday. 6 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has confirmed that Ethan Nwaneri will be missing for a few weeks with the muscular injury he sustained in Saturday's 1-1 Premier League draw with Brighton & Hove Albion. 6 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Pep Guardiola made it crystal clear after Manchester City's 4-1 victory over West Ham United in the Premier League last weekend that his Citizens side are "absolutely not" back to their best just yet.