Santo rubbishes claims of Mendes foul play
NUNO ESPIRITO SANTO says Wolves will not be derailed by new allegations about their dealings with superagent Jorge Mendes.
Boss Nuno came out fighting, insisting Wolves have done nothing wrong, after leaked emails reopened the debate over the club’s cosy relationship with Mendes.
Emails from Wolves executive chairman Jeff Shi, uncovered by the whistleblowing website Football Leaks, allegedly show attempts to get around FA rules on conflicts of interest.
But Nuno, who is a client and friend of Mendes, said: “I’m not concerned. It’s not my business, what can I do?
Convinced
“What I have is total confidence in the way the club do things, it’s been proven before, it’ll be proven again.”
Championship rivals complained last season about a conflict of interest as companies run by Wolves owners Fosun hold a stake in Mendes’s firm, Gestifute.
But both the EFL and FA cleared Wolves of breaking the rules.
Nuno, a former goalkeeper, was Mendes’s first client before the agent signed up major stars including Cristiano Ronaldo and Jose Mourinho.
And he says he is sure the club have done nothing wrong.
“I’m totally convinced,” said Nuno, whose 11th-placed side host struggling Huddersfield at Molineux tomorrow.
“I don’t care about that, I’m not focused on that and I don’t give relative importance to it. Wikileaks is always bringing things out and for me it’s not important.
“We don’t have to prove anything to anybody so we keep on working the same way.
“What goes on outside doesn’t matter and the credit is for the players.
“If an agent has good players and these players fit into your shape and into your squad you have to work with it.
“We don’t work with only one agent. We scout all over the world so we don’t rely only on one option. It’s about the market and what we want from the players.
“It’s not about the agent. It’s about the players.”