Mendes connections allow Wolves to dream again

WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS have only sporadically enjoyed European football since their golden era in the 1950s, but a controversial connection with Portuguese super-agent Jorge Mendes has made them a force to be reckoned with again.

The club’s three League triumphs are immortalised in statues to Wolves legend Billy Wright and manager Stan Cullis at either end of the club’s Molineux stadium.

The side they led came to be heralded “champions of the world” by the English press for winning a serious of glamour friendlies that ultimately led to the creation of the European Cup.

Sixty years on, Wolves could be back in the Champions League next season via a top-four finish in the Premier League – potentially fifth should Manchester City’s two-year European football ban stand – or by winning the Europa League.

Nuno Espirito Santo’s men host Espanyol in the first leg of their Europa League last-32 tie tomorrow (4am Malaysian time) and sit just five points off the Champions League places in the Premier League.

Just six years ago Wolves were a sleeping giant, rooted in England’s

third tier, but a takeover by Chinese conglomerate Fosun in 2016 and their close links to Mendes have transformed the fortunes of the club.

The appointment of Nuno as coach and a steady drip feed of some of Mendes’ star-studded client list saw Wolves promoted in the Portuguese manager’s first season in charge and finish seventh in their first campaign back in the Premier League.

“For a lot of fans of my generation you feel like you are watching your game of Football Manager come to life,” David Evans of the Wolves Fancast told AFP.

Portuguese internationals Rui

Patricio, Ruben Neves and Joao Moutinho, former Atletico Madrid and Benfica striker Raul Jimenez and Nuno himself are among the Mendes clients to become modern-day giants at Molineux.

“After many conversations, he convinced me that taking charge of the Wolves would be the right step for me. The project was very challenging and was presented in a very enthusiastic way,” Nuno told ESPN Brazil.

“He is my friend and a person I admire a lot. He is the best agent in the world.”

Wolves’ reliance on the Mendes production line shows no sign of slowing down. The signing of Daniel Podence from Olympiakos in January took the total number of Portuguese players in Nuno’s first-team squad to eight. – AFP