Their outgoing loanee Traore is playing like we know for Barcelona atm, Though they are 1-3 up at Napoli.
Yeah it boggles my mind that during all the waxing lyrical about them in recent weeks their super dodgy links with Mendes are never mentioned. Their platform, including their promotion, was built on underpaying (both fees and wages) for loads of Mendes clients to help put them in the shop window for him They basically operated as Red Bull Salzburg do for RB Leipzig. But for a super agent rather than a club No club in the position they were in could have secured deals for Neves, Moutinho, Patricio and the like. Even ones slightly higher up the ladder wouldn’t have done either.
The difficulty is that, unlike QPR's misadventure with the same structure (if it can be charitably called that), what Wolves have done has worked. And in football, even if a strategy is a bit slimy, teams will continue to do something that helps them win, particularly if it also happens to be cost-effective. In the case of Wolves, their current structure isn't manifestly different than the way than agents long operated in Portugal and Brazil (and to a lesser extent Italy) with part-ownership of player registrations/third-party ownership, just in a much less convoluted fashion. The solution, as it is to many of these things, is to reform the system of agent pay. If agents were paid a set percentage of the wages of the player, by the player, the active hand they currently take in transfers would not be anywhere near as lucrative. You'd certainly still have agitation for moves, but not the shell game of transfer churn designed mostly to ensure that bonuses and fees are paid out at every turn.
I’m not disputing that it has worked. More commenting that it isn’t even mentioned. And just seems corrupt It seems apparent like you said that it is a Portuguese style co-ownership with Mendes unofficially owning a portion to drive down the fees etc This isn’t really allowed but they have clearly found a loophole. Perhaps they don’t want to publicise it to stop it becoming even more common The real part that highlights it is when they bought that teenage striker for close to 40m and I believe similar to what the paid for Jiminez. And i think it was even outright stated by the parents club they didn’t see much of that. It was just a massive bung to agents i can’t work out exactly why but there would be reasons. Perhaps something to do with keeping fees for other players lower to get more of a sell on benefit and the like. And also spreading out the budget to basically pay for a load of players late
They've finished 7th a few times and managed to keep their best players - certainly not picked off by the Big Six clubs like we suffered. Then Neves, Traore and co don't leave when they fall to 14th and Nuno goes at the end of last season. Kind of odd, when you factor in the stated wages they're on (eg: Neves 50K, Jiminez 41k (surprisingly still on the sums of their initial contracts signed in 2018 and 2019 respectively). Makes me think that either Iberians just love the Black Country, Mendes clients are remunerated in more clandestine ways or there's other particular elements of control Mendes has? You're right, there is something about the way they operate that just breeds - or should do - suspicion.
It doesn’t make sense at all. The clandestine remuneration actually makes sense despite sounding crazy. But I expect that is how it works for partially owned players. Almost as if they get a salary top up from Mendes. But agents usually take money not give it Nevez had a price quoted of 40m. Which should have been a no brainer for someone like Man United whose central midfield is largely pathetic. And they could treble the wages. But it hasn’t happened. Why? There is something odd there. Maybe that one happens. Or maybe it is just because that signing is too sensible for Man United Their wage bill is far too low for the calibre of player and something really doesn’t seem right. Almost seems like a Saracens situation edit : but not selling them on seems to defeat the purpose I assumed. Jota has been the only big sale
The cock shouldn’t have played the covid card then, to allow injured players to recover and new signings to join.
