Barcelona Sporting Director Deco has defended his role during Raphinha’s transfer from Leeds United to the Blaugrana. The deal cost a reported €58m, and there has been accusations that Deco received a hefty commission for the deal, which he has denied.
Deco was his agent at the time, and it was thought that his presence was crucial in helping Barcelona to sign Raphinha, over a reportedly more lucrative offer from Chelsea. Deco defended his role in the deal on SER Catalunya.
“I had been an agent for eight years, creating a company from scratch, when Laporta called me. In June I told Raphinha that I would no longer be his agent. I had unregistered myself. But I wasn’t going to lose everything I had done in this operation. I haven’t stolen anything,” Diario AS quoted.
Deco says he did not make his commission, but merely his agents fee.
“I did not offer Raphinha to Barca. It was Jordi Cruyff who came to see me. When I come to Barcelona, I agree on a commission and that’s it. I sold my rights to an investment fund. I gave up my €4m transfer fee because Raphinha wanted to come to Barcelona. I did not charge the transfer fee, only the representation fee. They haven’t given me anything. I got paid for things I worked on. Who represents Raphinha now? “I’ll have to ask him, he hasn’t communicated it.”
Whether he means he sold his rights to a commission onto an investment fund, or merely just his agency, it is not clear. However it would not be the first time that Barcelona have come into question for their dealings with agents, amid accusations of high commissions being paid to agents such as Jorge Mendes.
