'Super Agent' Jorge Mendes on thin ice with Ronaldo after stunning claims

17 October 2014 09:23

When you're a world superstar, you're going to need a superstar agent, and that's exactly what Cristiano Ronaldo has in "Super agent" Jorge Mendes.

Thus far Mendes has managed to provide Ronaldo with quite possibly the best career a footballer could dream of. Playing for two of the worlds biggest clubs and putting him on a pedastal among the world greats. However, His recent comments have caused a stir and may come back to bite him.

Ronaldo left former club Manchester United in the summer of 2009 after making it fairly clear he wanted a new challenge and was yearning for a move to boyhood idols Real Madrid. This was a mouth watering piece of business For La Liga as they could now sell the "Ronaldo vs Messi" rivlary to the world. It seemed the world-record transfer could also ignite Real's hopes of once again dominating Europe.

Since getting his wish the Portuguese phenomenon has broken almost every record going and is currently scoring more goals than games played. To top all this off at the end of last season Real Madrid finally succeeded in winning their tenth Champions League trophy at the cost of their neighbours Atletico. Before the confetti could hit the ground, however, its seemed fans and media alike were wondering if this could be the year Ronaldo would return to Old Trafford. It was no wonder Red Devils fans were crying out for some good news after their year under David Moyes.

Ronaldo has never denied wanting to go back to Manchester. Many thought it would happened a couple of years ago when he complained of feeling "sad". It turned out to be a combination of things to do with money and professional decisions but that didn't stop United fans clutching at straws in the hope that their golden boy might return.

There's one major hurdle that Ronaldo has never seemed able to conquer though, convincing the world he is better than Lionel Messi. Even with his goals and record breaking form, the majority of fans and professionals of the game always seem to be on the Argentine's side. There came a tipping point recently however when he finally beat his Barcelona rival to claim the Ballon D'Or in 2014. This was to stop Messi claiming his record fifth in succession. He also scored the vital goals against Sweden in Portugal's two-leg play-off to qualify for the 2014 World Cup. This, many believed, was what finally clinched him the aforementioned trophy. Even after achieving all this, people still seemed torn and although there was euphoria around Cristiano at the time, the general feeling among some was "Messi will win it next year", as well as the anticipation to see how well Messi coped at the World Cup under the "Maradona" tag and Barcelona team mate Neymar under "Pele".

So, He hasn't ruled out a return to United. He's won everything there is to win at Madrid. Add to this the Red Devils sloppy start to the season, and the pieces all seemed to fit together. That is until your agent claims you're worth a billion and you'll be playing at your current club until you're 40! There is no doubt Mendes is the worlds leading agent, covering most of the global market with his world-class array of clients, but is this potentially the biggest mistake he could make?

Some may point out it's genius in business terms. Ronaldo is approaching the end of his prime and has recently complained of a burn out. Anyone who wishes to buy him now will probably have him till the end of his career. He's clearly still producing the goods, which is wonderful for Real as his growing partnership with prodigy Gareth Bale is seemingly becoming unstoppable. Why would you sell him unless you recieved a ridiculous fee? If this was a goad, or even a gloat, towards interested parties, it has backfired painfully. There are said to be no approaches for him whatsoever now. No calls, no voicemails not even a text. If Madrid and Mendes simply wanted the world to "Back off" from their Galactico, it seems to have worked to perfection.

But is this what Ronaldo really wants? To live out the rest of his playing days in the all white strip? To pass the torch onto the likes of Bale and Rodriguez? To keep up this never ending duel with Messi and what now seems Neymar? Ok, Mendes did shower him with praise by stating he was the greatest athlete of all time (don't worry if you spat your drink out, your probably weren't alone!), but shouldn't the client himself have a say on his own career? To be fair to Mendes, whenever questioned in the past about his future, Ronaldo normally comes out with the old "you never know" line, maybe his agent finally had enough and went ahead making the decisions for him.

So far, there has been no response from "CR7". He could be fuming with the revelations and throwing a temper tantrum (maybe like the ones he uses to get free-kicks and penalties). On the other hand he might not even be aware and just counting his money and dusting off his many trophies. I'm not bitter, I swear!

Whatever happens, the response to these claims should be interesting. Even if Ronaldo does decide to leave his trusty agent, Mendes has a whole lot of other clients ready to choose from. Hard life, eh!

Source: DSG