Bebe United Transfer Takes Another Bizarre Twist

Raskolnikov

From the Daily Wail.

Manchester United’s peculiar £7.5million transfer of misfit striker Bebe is being investigated by anti-corruption police in Portugal, it emerged on Friday night.

It appears about £3m of the fee paid went missing. United’s decision to pay so much money for a virtual unknown raised eyebrows when they struck the deal with Portuguese club Vitoria Guimaraes in August 2010. Only 20 at the time, Bebe made just three starts for United - none in the league - before being loaned to Besiktas in Turkey last summer.

.....

Bebe’s transfer was so unusual because he was playing for tiny Division Two club Estrela da Amadora and living in a homeless shelter only weeks before joining United.

Sir Alex Ferguson has admitted he signed Bebe ‘blind’, having seen him play only on video. Former United No 2 Carlos Queiroz pointed Ferguson towards the tall striker after he scored 40 goals in six games during a street tournament.

Bebe went from earning £12,000 a year at Estrela to £12,000 a week at United. His former boss Jorge Paxaio told Sportsmail the player could have been signed for just £125,000 the previous year.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2129517/Bebe-transfer-probed-Portuguese-police.html#ixzz1s2Ng6AtW

I never realised that Bebe was living in a homeless shelter before his transfer to United :eek:

3hn2givr7mx1sc

You couldn't hear the name Bebé without some word describing him as homeless around the time that he signed.

Oat23

What a position to be in as a manager, where you are allowed to spend £7.5m on a player you have only seen on youtube or whatever. I thought I read he seen him play once in person.

Jesus.

Samich

If the 3 million went to Bebe it could be worse.

He was homeless in fairness.

If it went to some agent or something, something should happen.

Morricone

There really needs to be a thorough investigation launched into this transfer and how it was conducted. It absolutely stinks to be quite honest.

Alex Ferguson's glee to get into bed with the agents involved in this transfer will stain his legacy somewhat I feel.

MagicMarker

Morricone wrote: »

Alex Ferguson's glee to get into bed with the agents involved in this transfer will stain his legacy somewhat I feel.

Stop talking bollocks.

Raskolnikov

Always remember the Wolves match when he was subbed on in the first half, only to be taken off again in the second. Smacks of Alia Dia.

Mikeyt086

Manchester United get all the decisions!

Morricone

MagicMarker wrote: »

Stop talking bollocks.

If it proved following an investigation that Ferguson used this transfer as a means to get Jorge Mendes working for him then yes I do feel that being involved in corruption would taint his legacy.

Mr Alan

The transfer has always stank. Doubt they'll be able to prove/do anything though.

DB10

I wonder if Commolli was involved. He's Portuguese isn't he?

Morricone

DB10 wrote: »

I wonder if Commolli was involved. He's Portuguese isn't he?

No Commolli is French. This transfer was Ferguson's method of greasing Jorge Mendes palms. Plain agus simple.

Samich

Vitória's directors reported that Mendes had received €3.6 million of the €9 million fee from the deal, with reports in Portugal suggesting that €2.7 million of that sum came from the 30 percent of the player's economic rights initially retained by Bébé but bought from the player by Mendes for €100,000.[15]

Nothing wrong with that is there?

MagicMarker

Morricone wrote: »

If it proved following an investigation that Ferguson used this transfer as a means to get Jorge Mendes working for him then yes I do feel that being involved in corruption would taint his legacy.

Guy:Incognito

"Former United No 2 Carlos Queiroz pointed Ferguson towards the tall striker after he scored 40 goals in six games during a street tournament"

Srsly? He was playign football on his road wiht his mates and that got him a transfer?:)

gosplan

MagicMarker wrote: »

Stupid post.

1: Football's hugely corrupt anyway. Fergie as much as anyone else has obviously bent the rules over the years to get what he needs for his team.


2: Don't denounce him as a tin foil hat type unless of course you have an entirely rational reason for Bebe's signing.

Bob the Seducer

I always assumed some of the money made it's way to Carlos Queiroz.

Actually, the way the transfer came out of nowhere purely based on Queiroz's recommendation, I wouldn't be surprised if dear old Carlos had some interest in Bebé's "economic rights".

Queiroz's agent certainly got his pound of flesh anyway, to the tune of €3.6m...

Mendes, before agreeing the deal with United, had bought Bébé's 30% of his own economic rights – for €100,000. When Bébé was then sold on to United days later, Mendes had become entitled to 30% of United's €9m fee, which worked out at €2.7m. The further €0.9m is assumed to be his fee for acting as the agent – a further 10%.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/david-conn-inside-sport-blog/2011/jan/20/manchester-united-bebe

MagicMarker

gosplan wrote: »

Stupid post.

1: Football's hugely corrupt anyway. Fergie as much as anyone else has obviously bent the rules over the years to get what he needs for his team.

2: Don't denounce him as a tin foil hat type unless of course you have an entirely rational reason for Bebe's signing.

So a team gets ahead of themselves and signs a player for more than he's worth, therefore corruption is the rational conclusion to come to? If so, someone call Scotland Yard, they may want to launch an investigation against Liverpool.

Jesus Wept

Raskolnikov wrote: »

Always remember the Wolves match when he was subbed on in the first half, only to be taken off again in the second. Smacks of Alia Dia.

What was Alia Dia's deal? Don't know him.

DB10 wrote: »

I wonder if Commolli was involved. He's Portuguese isn't he?

I can't take you seriously as a human anymore, and it's only been about 6 hours of reading your posts.

Dubit10

From day one this tranfer was as dodgy as hell. I'm sure it goes on all the time tbh but it seems like this one could have legs in regards to finding an answer.

Dubit10

MagicMarker wrote: »

So a team gets ahead of themselves and signs a player for more than he's worth, therefore corruption is the rational conclusion to come to? If so, someone call Scotland Yard, they may want to launch an investigation against Liverpool.

Amazing. This thread has nothing at all to do with LFC but there you go anyway.

MagicMarker

Dubit10 wrote: »

Amazing. This thread has nothing at all to do with LFC but there you go anyway.

I was making a point, you clearly missed it.

eagle eye

MagicMarker wrote: »

I was making a point, you clearly missed it.

No you weren't, you were making a smartarse comment about Liverpool. There is no point to that at all. This article(if you cared to read it) is about a player who was not playing top class football being transferred for a pretty sizeable amount of cash. There is something odd about it in fairness.

Pro. F

That was the dodgiest looking deal of the time. No doubt about it.

Iirc Mendes has been involved in a few battles over transfer fees not going where they were supposed to. Hopefully all the attention stays at his and the selling club's end.

Although it always looked clear that United over payed for Bebe so as to give Mendes a nice big present, is that actually against any rules?

Al Capwned

Morricone wrote: »

There really needs to be a thorough investigation launched into this transfer and how it was conducted. It absolutely stinks to be quite honest.

Alex Ferguson's glee to get into bed with the agents involved in this transfer will stain his legacy somewhat I feel.

Morricone wrote: »

If it proved following an investigation that Ferguson used this transfer as a means to get Jorge Mendes working for him then yes I do feel that being involved in corruption would taint his legacy.

Morricone wrote: »

No Commolli is French. This transfer was Ferguson's method of greasing Jorge Mendes palms. Plain agus simple.

GTFO

:mad:

theoneeyedman

As a Knight of the Realm it is inappropriate to question Sir Ally's integrity....

Morricone

alproctor wrote: »

GTFO

:mad:

Like are you actually disagreeing with me. Do you honestly think that the whole Bebé transfer was totally above board without any financial motives? Please illustrate if you answered yes to the above question.

PhlegmyMoses

I sincerely doubt that United have done anything legally compromising here. It's not like Fergie is personally handing the money over himself o he could maybe get good players in the future. The money would have to be accounted for to Gill, the Glazers and numerous others.

jive

I wonder at what point did Fergie realise he was shít? I can just see him at Carrington and at some moment the penny just drops... "fml". Tis not the end of the world anyway, even if they make a £5m loss on him it's buttons to a club like United really (even when they're in debt).

Paparazzo

Guy:Incognito wrote: »

"Former United No 2 Carlos Queiroz pointed Ferguson towards the tall striker after he scored 40 goals in six games during a street tournament"

Srsly? He was playign football on his road wiht his mates and that got him a transfer?:)

He won 7 games of "3 and In" in a row so fergie signed him. Stayed out of goal for an entire 4 hour game of heads and volleys

dreamers75

Paparazzo wrote: »

He won 7 games of "3 and In" in a row so fergie signed him. Stayed out of goal for an entire 4 hour game of heads and volleys

Theres hope for us all.

homerjay2005

jive wrote: »

I wonder at what point did Fergie realise he was shít?

when one of the coaches said "he looks like somebody who won a raffle to be here"......

Bebe isnt a bad player all things considered, he would easily be good enough for the championship i reckon and perhaps turkish/portuguese premier is his proper level. he is a lad with multiple portugal u-21 caps after all. if he wasnt cut out to be a professional footballer, he would be found out at that level and he wouldnt be picked over and over again for them.. he just isnt a man united player though and never will be looks like.

the transfer fee paid was absolutely crazy, had we got him for about 1-3million i wouldnt mind, but to be at 3 times that, is just scandalous. pity one of the LOI teams didnt pick him up for 100k 2 years ago, would have made them a fortune!

IvySlayer

The transfer fee was ridiculous but any attempt to get in a dig at Fergie and people will flock.

Yakult

Bebe?

dreamers75

Yakult wrote: »

Bebe?

took a while

Al Capwned

Exactly.

The reported fee was completely over the top, and Ferguson obviously had faith in what Queiroz told him regarding how good the player actually was.

Someone posted earlier (maybe in the superthread) a quote from the original article something along the lines of "There is no suggestion of any wrong doing on the part of Manchester United".

So of course you're gonna get a reaction when you come on here an blatantly accuse Alex Ferguson of impropriety in the deal )on 3 seperate occasions) without any foundation other than just wanting to stir!

redzerdrog

Dont know much about this mendes lad but why would utd be so keen to grease his hand as such?

Ebbs

redzerdrog wrote: »

Dont know much about this mendes lad but why would utd be so keen to grease his hand as such?

He was responsible for Ronaldo, Anderson, and Nani.

Id be more surprised if he was brought up on deals with Chelsea though, there were a lot of dodgy deals between the Portuguese there with Jose being at the centre.

redzerdrog

Ebbs wrote: »

He was responsible for Ronaldo, Anderson, and Nani.

Id be more surprised if he was brought up on deals with Chelsea though, there were a lot of dodgy deals between the Portuguese there with Jose being at the centre.

But these deals were done years ago surely it would make more sense to keep him sweet if he had the next ronaldo or nani on his books.

Plus surely he should be the one paying utd back after the amount Anderson cost them:P

dreamers75

Actually thought united didnt pay agents and made a point of pointing that fact out.

redzerdrog

dreamers75 wrote: »

Actually thought united didnt pay agents and made a point of pointing that fact out.

highly doubt that tbh

Dempsey

dreamers75 wrote: »

Actually thought united didnt pay agents and made a point of pointing that fact out.

Where did you hear that?

dreamers75

Dempsey wrote: »

Where did you hear that?

http://www.manutd.com/en/News-And-Features/Club-News/2010/Nov/Club-payments-to-agents.aspx

not sure think it was bbc but they do this ^^ a lot cos of some agreement to stamp out agents or something.

united fan would know more.

Dempsey

dreamers75 wrote: »

http://www.manutd.com/en/News-And-Features/Club-News/2010/Nov/Club-payments-to-agents.aspx

not sure think it was bbc but they do this ^^ a lot cos of some agreement to stamp out agents or something.

united fan would know more.

I remember that Gary Neville & Paul Scholes dont have agents but I dont know of any club policy. Maybe they can do that arrangement with players they promote from within but they cant get away from agents when they buy a player

Blatter

redzerdrog wrote: »

Dont know much about this mendes lad but why would utd be so keen to grease his hand as such?

Rumour at the time is that it had something to do with Jose Mourinho, who's agent is Mendes. Impossible to know what to believe though.

Dante

If a club is going to dish out over £7 million on a player, surely there must be a proper system in place to thoroughly monitor and evaluate that player over a given time period prior to the signing, rather than a coach simply telling the manager how good the player is based on one video. I mean come on, this is the real world, its not like football manager where clubs just buy players based on a list of attributes and form.
And lets be honest realistic here, Fergie is a highly football-intelligent man who knows the sport inside out. There is no way in hell he, or any other respectable premier league manager for that matter, would spend that amount money on a player based on a single video unless there were some other external influences or incentives involved, whatever they may be. Imo there is something extremely iffy about this deal, and an investigation should definitely be conducted, especially after this latest revelation.

monkey9

DB10 wrote: »

I wonder if Commolli was involved. He's Portuguese isn't he?

Seriously, are you drunk?? Did you go out on the lash friday night and just continue drinking all through Saturday cos you have posted bizarre anti Liverpool posts all day!!!! How you manage to make one in this thread is extraordinary!!!

As for the transfer, there was always something strange about it. Now, to say Ferguson is involved in anything dodgy here, is ridiculous. He's probably just been duped. He was told, presumably, this player is class, the club are willing to pay the fee and Ferguson says, fair enough. Let's go for it!

Managers rely on their scouts and what's reported to them. They're too busy to be travelling the world checking out players themselves!!

monkey9

Blatter wrote: »

Rumour at the time is that it had something to do with Jose Mourinho, who's agent is Mendes. Impossible to know what to believe though.

What do you mean when you say Mourinho was involved?

Blatter

monkey9 wrote: »

What do you mean when you say Mwourinho was involved?

His agent is Mendes, and the suggestion was at the time that the Bebe deal sweetened him up for the United job when Fergie retires. Wild speculation, but who knows.

Samich

Blatter wrote: »

His agent is Mendes, and the suggestion was at the time that the Bebe deal sweetened him up for the United job when Fergie retires. Wild speculation, but who knows.

7.5 million now






Mourinho brings in the trophies then. :cool:

That is pretty smart thing to do if it was true. Although I think Mourinho would get the job anyways.

kryogen

There has been no suggestion of any wrongdoing whatsoever on the part of Manchester United.

Suck it