Manchester City have confirmed that Hugo Viana will take over as City’s director of football from Txiki Begiristain at the end of the season. That news came via a statement on mancity.com just under a week ago. Viana’s arrival will usher in a new era at Manchester City. Now a new report suggests that City could benefit from Viana’s close relationship with super agent Jorge Mendes. That particular relationship could be to City’s gain going forward.
Sami Mokbel has reported for the Daily Mail that Hugo Viana’s appointment at Manchester City had ‘raised industry whispers about the influence super-agent Jorge Mendes will have on City’s future recruitment.’ Furthermore, Mokbel reports that there is an expectation that Mendes will have an impact on City’s future deals, given his close relationship with Hugo Viana.
Relationships between agents and directors are commonplace, and Manchester City may benefit from Viana’s contacts going forward.
There is no doubting the importance of agents in football. While their influence is frowned upon in some quarters, they do wield a lot of power in the game. This has been seen throughout transfers in Europe. It is unlikely to change anytime soon.
Jorge Mendes is the agent of several of Manchester City’s stars. Currently, Ederson, Matheus Nunes, Ruben Dias and Bernardo Silva are all Jorge Mendes clients. Three of those four players named are senior figures at Manchester City. Viana’s close relationship with Mendes may help with any negotiations over new deals with any of those four players. Mendes may also be able to find favourable deals for City if any of those four named decide to leave the club next summer or beyond. But could also be another benefit of Viana’s close connection with Jorge Mendes.
The super agent that is Jorge Mendes currently has a host of young stars as his clients. Names such as Warren Zaire-Emery, Joao Neves, Alejandro Balde, Antonio Silva and Francisco Conceicao are clients of Mendes. There is no doubt that the time for Manchester City to rebuild their squad is coming shortly. If any of those players mentioned take City’s liking, Viana may be able to use his connections to see City move for any of Mendes’ clients named. That is also true for any other of Mendes’ clients. Those connections could be to City’s benefit going forward. That remains to be seen.
Hugo Viana is set to resume his role as City’s director of football next summer. It appears that his relationship with Jorge Mendes may be to Manchester City’s benefit. That is one advantage of such a shrewd appointment by the world champions. Time will tell just how profitable Viana’s relationship with Mendes will be. But Mendes is one of the shrewdest and most powerful agents in the game. Viana being able to tap into that resource should help City prosper should Viana decide to move for any of Mendes clients.
