When Deco assumed the position of sporting director of FC Barcelona in August 2023, he separated from his representation agency, called DE20, due to the ethical consequences that this could entail.
That meant, among other things, that Raphinha, a Blaugrana player and one of his clients in his portfolio, was left without a representative, a tremendously unusual situation in today’s elite football.
As La Vanguardia has learned, Raphinha, now in the showcase due to his great performance and taking into account Barça’s pressing financial needs, has been offered to some clubs in the Saudi League, including Al Hilal, through Jorge Mendes, agent for whom Deco worked after retiring from active football.
In fact, Deco created a company in Brazil under the umbrella of Gestifute, Mendes’ large company. Some time later he became independent, creating several companies with the initials DE20 and, although he promised to close them when he joined Barcelona with Laporta, Cadena Ser revealed that this was not the case. “I keep the companies active because I will not stop collecting everything I have pending from all the years I have worked before joining Barça,” Deco acknowledged. “The club’s compliance knows everything, I’m not doing anything illegal,” he added, interviewed by the station about that news.
Deco also revealed that, regarding Raphinha’s transfer from Leeds to Barça, he ended up receiving the amount that corresponded to him as an agent, which usually ranges between 5 and 10 percent of the salary, in this case in a contract agreed for five years. He did it through a unique formula, as he also acknowledged in Ser: “In June I terminate the contract with Raphinha and I agree to a commission with Barça and that’s it. I have sold it to an investment fund and this fund gets paid.” The question that needs to be asked is what will happen to that money if Raphinha leaves Barça before his contract expires, a feasible possibility given the Brazilian’s poster.
