Darwin Nunez, Vieira: how much money did Mendes make this summer?

FT Desk

• 5 Sep 2022 10:31 CDT
• 3 min read

Jorge Mendes was involved in multiple big-money moves this summer. How much did he make from Darwin Nunez's €100 million transfer from Benfica to Liverpool and the like?

Born in Lisbon, the 56-year-old Mendes counts the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Jose Mourinho and Joao Felix among his client list, and has long been one of the most influential agents in world football.

Darwin's transfer to Liverpool made him the joint-most expensive transfer of the summer, alongside Antony - who swapped Ajax for Manchester United - and Aurelien Tchouameni, who also cost €100m when he joined Real Madrid from Monaco.

Fabio Vieira may not have made the top 10 list of most expensive transfers this summer, but he still set Arsenal back a cool €45m when he joined from Porto. Mendes pocketed 10 per cent of that.

"According to reports in Portugal, Mendes also received a 10% slice of the €35m deal that took Fabio Vieira from Porto to Arsenal, and a cut from Vitinha's €40m move from Porto to Paris Saint-Germain to take his total commission to a cool €13.5m."

Silly money

Ten per cent of the Vieira fee is €4.5m alone. While the rest of Mendes's agreements with clubs and players can't be known for sure, if that 10 per cent cut is an average of what Mendes earns, he has had some summer.

"No one moves without him being involved, especially to the Premier League," Pippo Russo, a sociologist at the University of Florence who specialises in the business of football, is quoted as saying by the Guardian.

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"It's been maybe the most important summer in his career as an agent - he has been involved in a lot of transfers. He is really everywhere at the moment."

The biggest three movers from Portugal to England were Darwin, Vieira and Matheus Nunes, who joined Wolverhampton Wanderers from Sporting Lisbon for €44m. Joao Palhinha cost the fourth-most in joining Fulham from Sporting for €23m.

Taking Mendes's 10 per cent fee, that would make for €22.2m in his back pocket from four transfers alone - not bad for someone who used to run a video shop.