As we continue to cover the latest claims from Portugal which say Wolverhampton Wanderers are close to signing Pelé for €10m, it’s hard to ignores the moves the player has been involved in over the past couple of years.
Earlier today, we recalled the story which said Pelé was moving to Wolves in 2016. At that time, he was still a Benfica player, and would be transferred to the Championship side along with Ivan Cavaleiro, Helder Costa and Sílvio. All of them changing clubs with the help of Jorge Mendes.
The move didn’t happen because of an injury. But the following year, when Mendes had a pretty busy summer, some interesting things took place.
First, Manchester City signed Ederson, a Jorge Mendes client. As Rio Ave still owned a share of the goalkeeper, and Premier League clubs are demanded to have 100% to register the players, that part was bought as well.
Benfica didn’t pay Rio Ave’s share with money only, according to reports at the time. They sent the Vila Condense side a couple of players, and one of them was Pelé.
Also in the middle of the year, when Mendes’ work with Wolves was in full throttle, the Portuguese press started reporting the Fosun group would invest in Rio Ave. Obviously, with a big influence from the super-agent.Pelé, who has nothing to do it, just did his job. He’s been having a great season for Rio Ave so far, and now there’s transfer claims.
As you’ve already read, Wolves are said to be close to signing him, at least according to A Bola. Meanwhile, O Jogo has a different report, saying Benfica are keen on signing him back.
The Eagles would be spending only €3m to sign him, according to the Northern newspaper. They still own 50% of his rights, so they only need to buy the other half. That’s why he’s considered to be a cheap addition to Benfica’s squad, who just want a replacement for Andreas Samaris.
But as a €10m star arriving at Wolverhampton, he would get to the Premier League on a totally different level, in a much more interesting move.
Is he worth that much? Not for Benfica, but maybe Mendes and the Fosun group think so.
