Important administrative changes have been taking place at FC Barcelona in the last year, with the latest one taking place only yesterday. The Catalans officially appointed Deco as their new Sporting Director on Wednesday, a change that can have long-term implications for the Catalan club.
One such implication of this new appointment has already surfaced in the form of news of Mateu Alemany leaving the club. There are news and rumors that Alemany is set to leave the club because of the appointment of Deco, and this topic was also the subject of a recent talk by the former Vice President of Valencia.
As reported by SPORT, Miguel Zorio, the former Vice President of Valencia, has named the super-agent, Jorge Mendes, as one of the factors that has led to Mateu Alemany’s departure from FC Barcelona. On Alemany’s departure, Zorio commented:
“The dismissal, disguised as removal, of Mateu Alemany signifies the second occasion in which Jorge Mendes severs the head of this executive who rebuilt our club and was doing the same with Barça. Now, everything will be much easier for Laporta and Mendes, both close friends of Peter Lim.”
Zorio further commented that Jorge Mendes has personally benefitted greatly by moving players between Barcelona and Valencia:
“Mendes has been able to earn €20 million from all the players he has brought into the Blaugrana squad from Valencia. The Valencia-Barcelona air bridge has been reestablished with Mateu Alemany’s departure.”
The former Valencia Vice President then went on to show how the appointment of Deco was another part of the strategy of Mendes to further his own interests at Barcelona:
“Deco was sponsored by Mendes and later worked for him at Gestifue. He is going to be the new Corona -Valencia sports director- of Barça”.
If there is any truth to the arguments made by Miguel Zorio, there will be an increased movement of players between Valencia and Barcelona in the coming years. Furthermore, Mendes’ influence at Barcelona will further grow, while it is already very high with the super-agent handling the files of a number of players in the Barcelona squad.