For
More than 80 players spread over 20 countries and coaches from the cache of André Villas-Boas or Marco Silva. Carlos Gonçalves (52 years old) founded ProEleven more than 20 years ago, one of the most successful agencies in Portugal, which manages the destiny of some of the most promising young people in the country, such as Tiago Thomas (champion with Sporting at only 18 years old), Diego Dalot (City side on loan at Milan), David Carmo, Guilherme Ramos or Francisco Moura …
Carlos Gonçalves receives AS in their Lisbon headquarters, where beyond the vicissitudes of the market, a team of more than a dozen people strives to provide a comprehensive service to its customers. It only remains to know how the crisis will affect this inexhaustible breeding ground of footballers that is Portugal, which has also recently been a gateway for South American players.
-What type of agency do you lead?
-We started 20 years ago. Portugal is an exporter of players, it is not the end of the line. My idea was always to go international… Now it is starting to happen with the Spanish, but if you look at it, the Portuguese players, like the Brazilians, are spread all over the world. And it was important to meet that need. We have more than 80 players in the portfolio and five coaches performing in 20 different countries. From China, Japan, Korea, the USA, Russia, plus the Big 5… In addition, we try to be very close to our clients, whether they are clubs or players.
-There is the idea that Portugal also channels a lot of what comes from Brazil.
-It was always a good showcase for the South Americans, mainly the Brazilians. Then the market changed and now it is more difficult to find level players for us in those countries because they go directly to Germany, England, Spain or France. Not long ago, it was easy for the main European clubs to sign three or four players from the Brazilian team. Now it is much more difficult.
-I understand…
-But there are other possibilities such as the Argentine market, although it has become somewhat more expensive. The Colombian market worked very well for Porto, mainly with Falcao, Guarín, James and many others… But yes, Portugal is a gateway because the league is competitive but comfortable, ideal to start with.
-What is it like to live together in a habitat where there is a giant like Mendes?
-Let's see, they do their job and we do ours. It is true that sometimes we have the idea about the same players or overlapping interests, but it is normal in the market. There is no major problem.
-How has the crisis affected the market?
-A lot of. It is a global and cross-cutting crisis. At the beginning, it was thought that it would affect more medium and small clubs that need to balance balances with sales, and finally it has affected everyone equally. The greats are losing a lot with everything that each game generates, about six or seven million euros. On the contrary, the small ones are being sustained with the television contracts.
-What summer do you foresee?
-We have to wait and see what happens with the Financial Fair Play. There are still people willing to invest in clubs and with that control from UEFA, it becomes very difficult. UEFA have to allow this in the next few years to get money back into the market.
-Will there be big operations?
– There will be some, of course, but when you ask your staff for a pay cut, if you make a big expense later … It is not comfortable.
-How has the business changed in these 20 years?
-Information arrives much faster everywhere. There is a generation of sports managers, coaches, soccer professionals in general … The business has changed as the times. Even this crisis will make us change even more …
-Does the world of representation also tend towards a monopoly? Raiola, Barnett, Mendes …
-Everything is very changeable. The strength of an agency is given by the moment its players are there. But yes, there are very large companies that dominate the market.
-What opinion do you have of the Super League?
-It was important to improve the way in which the idea was communicated. It is normal that the big clubs, which are the ones that generate the most, want to have a little more. But, on the other hand, there were some clubs that were going to participate in the European league that have been great for ten years, no more. Limiting that idea to a few is unreasonable. Because in football everything is changing, and leaving out clubs like Ajax, Porto, Benfica and Sporting, or other historical ones, is not fair either.
-Do you see a future for the idea?
-Another handicap is that it is a European league. If you think about it, it's easy to make that NBA or baseball league model in a single country like the US There, ok, it works for you. But I understand, for example, that the rivalry that exists in a Betis-Sevilla is very different from the one that an Atlético-Inter can generate.
– Would the Super League have changed a lot in the market?
-Well, it depended on UEFA sanctions. If carried out it would have been a tremendous problem for everyone. For me the formula that exists now is valid although it can be improved, of course. In Spain the League is between three teams. In Portugal Sporting won after 19 years. In France the league can be Lille… Sometimes in football, things happen. And it is fair to give everyone the opportunity to grow with their sporting merits.
-Do you feel like a threat the intention of FIFA to regulate the activity of the agents?
– FIFA, in relation to the agents, has always been lost. In the end, it only aims to regulate with respect to the percentage of commissions. And it seems that the rest does not matter. I believe that free will prevail between the parties. I am in favor of total transparency, that the data is public and audited, and that the money path be followed. In England it is like this. But, if there is no cap on the transfer of the players or their salaries, it does not make sense that there is one for the commissions of the agents.
-The argument of FIFA is that the agents already have a lot of power …
-Is not true. In the end, FIFA only gives the data of the total commissions that were paid in a year and compares it with the solidarity mechanism … And they compare things in the wrong way. If the global number of commissions paid a year grows, it is because spending on transfers, the money paid by televisions and player salaries has grown. Because it is something proportional. Twenty years ago less commissions were paid, of course, and lower salaries and lower transfers … And there was less money from televisions.
-Can Tiago Tomás be the next great outbreak of Portuguese football?
-It has conditions. He has a profile that is not typical of Portuguese players, very interesting for the international market. He is still very young. He has a lot of strength and technique …
-What makes you different?
-Tiago has a very important mental strength. It is what makes the difference, because technique and talent are presupposed. And he has a lot of work capacity, he always wants more, more and more … If we talk about qualities, technically he is very good, he is strong, he goes very well to the space, he defines with skill …
-How do you know when is the ideal time to jump?
-You don't have to rush … There is still more to do in Portugal, but in reality, many times, it is the market that defines this situation. It also depends on the club that comes for the player, if they need an immediate performance or if they plan to let him grow …
-Can you accuse the comparison with Cristiano?
-Yes, yes … Tiago Tomás is Tiago Tomás. We don't want that pressure for him. I don't think it's fair to compare an 18-year-old with Cristiano.
-In the U21 Euro Cup you have Dalot and Tiago… How is a championship like this for the agents?
-Well, not very special, because in reality most of the players who act are already in big clubs, and some are very established. But hey, it is true that it is a showcase and that it enables you to make subsequent movements … It also happens that there are players who do not go to that championship who then have brilliant careers in the elite.
Many days at sea await the Princess of Asturias, so this Thursday He took the…
MADRID, 9 Ene. (EUROPA PRESS) - Baskonia visits Virtus Bologna this Friday at the Virtus…
The Princess of Asturias is preparing to live one of the most exciting stages of…
MADRID 9 Ene. (EUROPA PRESS) - The Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic is clear that…
Absolute normality. Two very important events in four days have brought together the Kings and…
MADRID, 9 Ene. (EUROPA PRESS) - The president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF),…