“Cristiano was and is the best player in all history”: Jorge Mendes

Cristiano Ronaldo “was and is the best player in the history” of football, according to his former agent, Jorge Mendes, who also assured that he continues to maintain a “close” relationship with crack despite no longer representing him.

Speaking to the media on the sidelines of a gala for sports journalists in Viana do Castelo (Northern Portuguese), Mendes assures that Cristiano is “a special person” to him and that “he will always be the best in history”.

“Cristiano will always be in my heart. He is a special player and a special person to me,” affirms the Portuguese businessman who represented the former Real Madrid star for two decades.

Despite the recent end of the professional relationship between the two, Mendes insists that on a personal level, the relationship “remains close, a great personal relationship.”

The Portuguese “should be proud to have had and have a player like him. I have always said it and I will repeat it all my life: he was and is the best player in all history! I have no doubt” , he said.

Considered one of the most influential agents in the world, Jorge Mendes represented Cristiano Ronaldo for over 20 years, from the start of his professional career at Sporting de Portugal to the end of his recent sophomore spell at Manchester United.

According to the local press, Mendes was said to have been against the controversial interview Cristiano gave in November and his departure from Manchester, widening the differences between the two, which would have started with his departure from Juventus in 2021.

Regarding the signing of the player by Saudi Al-Nassr, the businessman pointed out that “he is where he is, that’s life”, and again stressed that Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo should be “very grateful”.

“For everything he has done for the national sport, for football and for the country itself: he is the greatest ambassador of Portugal ever,” he stressed.

In addition, he emphasized Cristiano’s discipline to achieve what he has achieved in his career, which has made him a “machine”.

“There is a lot of power from him there and also a lot of work. He is an example to young people and he has done everything a great professional should do because he is the best of them all!” said Mendes.

However, he added that the ex-Madridista was “a virtuous player when he was young: you (journalists) talk about Ronaldinho Gaucho and Messi, but when he was young Cristiano was also virtuous! And strong in ‘one on one’, and explosive!”.

“Cristiano became a machine! A lot of people never thought about that growth process that made him basically the best in history. And for me it will always be the best in history,” he concluded.