Jorge Mendes: Who is Cristiano Ronaldo’s agent? Did he play role in reported tax scandal? And will he force through move from Real Madrid to Manchester United?
Cristiano Ronaldo is believed to be unhappy in Spain with Real Madrid and has reportedly asked Mendes to secure Old Trafford switch
IF Cristiano Ronaldo moves away from Real Madrid this summer then Jorge Mendes is certain to play a key role in the transfer.
The 51-year-old has been the Portugal captain's agent ever since he first came through the ranks with Sporting Lisbon.
Here is everything we know about him.
Who is Jorge Mendes?
Jorge Mendes was born in Lisbon in 1966, and has become one of the most influential agents in the world.
His clients include Cristiano Ronaldo, David de Gea, Diego Costa and James Rodríguez.
After working as a DJ, Mendes opened a bar and nightclub in Caminha, Northern Portugal.
And it was in that industry that he gained his first client, meeting Vitoria Guimaraes goalkeeper Nuno in a bar in 1996 and forcing through his move to Deportivo.
That deal earned Mendes a positive reputation among Portuguese players and he soon pushed through Hugo Viana's £8.5m move to Newcastle in his first major international transfer.
Mendes was well connected in Portuguese academies and able to aquire promising young clients such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Ricardo Quaresma.
He has already pushed through one of the biggest deals in the summer, overseeing Benfica goalkeeper Ederson's £34.7m move to Manchester City.
What was Mendes' involvement in Cristiano Ronaldo's reported tax scandal?
Cristiano Ronaldo is accused of “four crimes against the public treasury between 2011-14... which involves tax fraud of €14,768,897 (£12.91m)”.
Prosecutors claim the player evaded taxes through a web of offshore companies, but Ronaldo says his "conscience is clear".
Mendes is not accused of any wrongdoing but has been summoned to court in a similar tax evasion case involving his former client Radamel Falcao.
Monaco’s Falcao is suspected of failing to correctly declare £4.9m of income earned from image rights between 2012 and 2013 while he was at Atletico Madrid.
The striker is suspected of using a web of shell companies in the British Virgin Islands, Ireland, Colombia and Panama to avoid taxes on the image rights income.
Will Jorge Mendes force through a move to Old Trafford for Ronaldo?
Ronaldo is reportedly keen to return to Manchester United and has instructed Mendes to do everything in his power to make it reality.
But the Ballon d'Or winner's relationship with Jose Mourinho is complicated after the pair fell out during the Special One's reign at Real Madrid.
Fortunately Mendes should be the perfect person to patch up relations between Portugal's top player and manager.
The super-agent has represented Mourinho since 2004, when he took on the then-Porto manager and arranged a move to Chelsea.
And Zlatan Ibrahimovic has reportedly thrown his weight behind Ronaldo's move to Old Trafford.
