Ronaldo and agent Mendes parted ways: once as close as father and son, now they are strangers

Ronaldo’s appearance in the Al-Nassr FC victory is impressive enough. He is still the most eye-catching football player on the planet.

However, it is undeniable that the era of Ronaldo may have ended – at the age of 38, Portuguese stars have faded out of the European mainstream stage for the first time in terms of competition.

Another shocking news is that the ace agent Mendes, who has cooperated with Ronaldo for 20 years, is confirmed to be getting away from him.

Mendes was once called “like his other father” in Ronaldo’s autobiographical film, and now this “family relationship” is about to turn against him.

Ronaldo and Mendes have been together for 20 years.

Relatives revolt

Once upon a time, this was a pair of best comrades in arms.

When Ronaldo, 17, played in the first team of Portuguese sports, he was “tied” with Mendes. Mendes has been his most steadfast comrade in arms during the years when Ronaldo has won honors in the world football.

In Ronaldo’s autobiography film, Mendes came to Ronaldo’s mansion to attend his family dinner. During the dinner, Ronaldo asked Mendes who is the best player in the world. Mendes said without thinking, “It’s you, Cristiano.”

The first time, Ronaldo also responded, “You are the best agent in the world.”

In 2015, when Mendes held the wedding ceremony, Ronaldo was not only the best man, but also bought a Greek island worth 12 million euros as a gift. This shows the depth of their feelings.

To some extent, Mendes is not only the best partner of Ronaldo in his work, but also the father and son of Ronaldo – Ronaldo’s father died in 2005. Mendes, as the closest elder, has always played an important role in Ronaldo’s life.

However, in the past few months, the news that Ronaldo and Mendes had parted ways was constantly exposed. Mendes simply became an outsider for the first time in the whole event that Ronaldo joined Al-Nassr FC Victory.

It is reported that while Ronaldo played in Qatar with Portugal in the World Cup, his contact with Al-Nassr FC Victory has entered a substantive stage, but it is not Mendes who is in charge of negotiations, but Ricardo Regev, Ronaldo’s friend and personal agent.

After Ronaldo and his delegation arrived in Lissau, they did not see Mendes in the whole process… Portuguese media reported that as early as last November, the agency relationship between Mendes and Ronaldo had actually ended.

According to the media, the difference between the two people is mainly due to the growing conflict between Ronaldo and Manchester United. Mendes hopes Ronaldo will accept the reality and follow the coach’s positioning. But in the last days of Manchester United, Ronaldo’s behavior becomes uncontrollable.

C Luo violated Mendes’ wishes again and again, even accepted the disastrous interview of reporter Pierce Morgan without Mendes’ complete knowledge, which made Mendes, as a broker, unable to get off the hook and had no room for manoeuvre

Mendes shaped the commercial success of CRO.

persist in wilfully and arbitrarily

Since the end of last season when Ronaldo was busy with the transfer, Mendes has been trying to find a potential home for Ronaldo, but after working hard all summer, Mendes did not get the answer he wanted.

Either the club is trapped by Ronaldo’s high salary, or Ronaldo himself is not satisfied. Mendes has never been able to decide a suitable place for Ronaldo. He is increasingly clear that staying at Manchester United is the best choice for Ronaldo, and Ronaldo needs to bow down when necessary.

But Cristiano Ronaldo did not follow Mendes’ advice this time. He has been in confrontation with Tenghage, and new problems have been brought about on and off the court.

To be fair, Cristiano Ronaldo has his own grievances. Tenghage’s handling method is different from that of several predecessors, which makes him unhappy. But strength in competitive sports determines everything. Since Cristiano Ronaldo is no longer his omnipotent self in the past, he needs to recognize the reality.

Mendes, as a broker, saw this earlier than Cristiano Ronaldo. The time when his clients were robbed by the world has passed. The problem is that Cristiano Ronaldo still believes in himself. He subjectively believes that Mendes did not complete the task satisfactorily this time.

The worst thing was the exclusive interview between Cristiano Ronaldo and Morgan. A player who had not yet divorced from his contractual relationship openly expressed his dissatisfaction with his host’s ups and downs. He not only made Tenghage easily stand on the moral high ground, but also completely broke his face with Manchester United.

What’s more, Cristiano Ronaldo told all the clubs with his irrational actions that the player was unconvinced. This is equivalent to closing the last door for Mendes to find a home for Ronaldo in Europe.

It was from then on that the relationship between Mendes and Cristiano Ronaldo went to the freezing point – Cristiano Ronaldo was determined, while Mendes thought he had lost trust.

It is reported that Mendes had contacted Al-Nassr FC at that time, but did not continue to follow up. After Ronaldo announced his contract termination with Manchester United during the World Cup, Ronaldo simply made a phone call to the senior management of some of the top European clubs to try to turn his career around through dialogue.

Mendes did not participate in this process. According to the media, Mendes was able to call Ronaldo personally at that time, but other people in his company wanted to contact Ronaldo only through Regev.

In the summer of 2022, Mendes accompanied Ronaldo back to United’s Carrington base.

He “made” Ronaldo

It can be believed that with the successful joining of Ronaldo to Al-Nassr FC Victory, the role of Ronaldo’s agent has been replaced by Regev.

Regev and Ronald have known each other for many years. In 2003, when Ronaldo was in Portugal, Regev, Nike’s marketing director, found Ronaldo. He played an important role in persuading Ronaldo to sign a cooperation agreement with Nike. Since then, they have become very good friends.

Even if Regev leaves Nike later, he is still a trustworthy person in the eyes of Ronaldo. With the alienation between Ronaldo and Mendes, Regev will not yield.

It can be predicted that Cristiano Ronaldo will have a high degree of attention for quite some time in the future, but Mendes’ departure is an obvious signal – he will no longer have higher expectations for Cristiano Ronaldo’s future competitive career.

C Luo and Regev.

It must be said that it is a pity to part from the intimate “father and son”.

I have to admit that Ronaldo must thank Mendes, who is a wise agent. At that time, Ronaldo received invitations from Manchester United, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Parma, Juventus, Arsenal and other top European clubs. Parma even promised Mendes a signing fee of tens of millions of euros, but Mendes remained unmoved.

He chose to sign with Manchester United because Ferguson promised to give the young player more than half of his playing time, even though the transfer fee of 12.24 million pounds was not so generous compared with his competitors.

Then Mendes operated Ronaldo to join Real Madrid at the age of 24, which was also a decisive transfer.

At Real Madrid, Ronaldo ushered in the most brilliant stage of his career. He won the Golden Globe Award for four times and won the Champions League for three consecutive times. Together with Messi, he created an era of double pride in world football.

Even after Cristiano Ronaldo was no longer young, Mendes still carefully protected Cristiano Ronaldo’s career. Joining Juventus and returning to Manchester United did not seem successful, but it was the best choice for Cristiano Ronaldo at that time.

Mutual achievement

Mendes can’t live without Cristiano Ronaldo.

After the successful operation of Ronaldo, Mendes gradually became famous in the agent circle. A large number of Portuguese players believed in Mendes, and Jose Vega, the agent of former Portuguese superstar Figo, could only give up the position of Portugal’s top agent.

With the growing business, Mendes even took control of some clubs and Portuguese national teams in a disguised form. There are a large number of players signed by Mendes in such teams as Valencia in La Liga and Wolves in the Premier League.

In the list of more than 20 members of the Portuguese national team, Mendes’ players account for more than 2/3, which means Mendes has been able to intervene in the internal affairs of the team to a large extent.

Last November, Valencia fans even put up the slogan “Oppose Mafia Mendes”. Many fans believed that Mendes’ intervention affected the normal operation of the club.

In addition to Cristiano Ronaldo, another icon of Portuguese football, Mourinho is also a client of Mendes.

Mendes contacted Chelsea owners Roman Abramovich and Jose Mourinho in private without any friendship. He promised Roman Abramovich that he could bring the Champions League coach to Stamford Bridge; In the face of Mourinho, he did the same

Too many stories have proved Mendes’ wisdom and courage. Now that Ronaldo has lost such an assistant, if he wants to return to the mainstream league, it will only be more difficult.

Now, it’s hard to say that the legend of Ronaldo has come to an end, but a Ronaldo without Mendes is destined to make people feel different.