Portuguese super-agent Jorge Mendes, best known for guiding Cristiano Ronaldo’s career and Lamine Yamal’s agent since 2023, has issued a pointed reminder about discipline and lifestyle following the Barcelona forward’s recent injury. Speaking about the pressures young players face early on, Mendes stressed that rising talents should look to figures like Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, both on and off the pitch, if they want to reach the very top and sustain it. While he didn’t name anyone directly, the timing made it clear the message was aimed at the 18-year-old Barcelona star.
A direct message built on two benchmarks
Speaking in an interview with the Portuguese newspaper A Bola, Jorge Mendes explained that when he talks to younger players, the focus often shifts to how they live away from football, using Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi as the benchmark.“Normally, I talk to my players and I ask them: ‘Do you want to be like Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi also off the field, or do you want to be…?’ I’m not going to give names, but that’s the difference,” he said. The point, as he framed it, is not limited to talent or performance during matches. For Mendes, what separates players who sustain success from those who fall away is how they manage their private lives and daily habits. He added: “I consider myself privileged. Cristiano is the best player in the history of world football and, at the same time, the best example off the field. This is the model we should pass on to children.”
Discipline and the role of opportunity
Mendes linked that discipline to how players handle their careers, particularly when it comes to choosing the right environment and maintaining consistency. “Many players get lost because they don’t have the right context. They go one or two years without playing and it seems that they are not good, but the problem is not the talent, but the opportunity,” he said. He added that career decisions should not always be based on status, but on development. “Many times we don’t choose the biggest club, but the place where they would play and grow. Going to a lower division can be better if you get minutes. Without opportunities, talent is useless.”
Advice beyond football: stability before exposure
Alongside the sporting side, Mendes also touched on how young players handle their finances and public image, stressing the importance of building a stable, long-term foundation before chasing visibility. He recommended that they focus on their lives with solid, lasting projects first, rather than rushing into gastronomic ventures or other commercial moves aimed at making a name in consumer society. “Manage your assets, buy a house, help your family,” he said, before adding a caution about distractions. “But don’t start opening restaurants. Unless you’re Cristiano, who’s on a pedestal. Because he’s already a professor on and off the field.” The reference once again pointed to Ronaldo, not just as a player, but as a model for managing success over time.
Context: Yamal’s situation
The timing of Mendes’ comments comes after Yamal’s recent injury against Celta Vigo, which has raised concerns about his immediate availability and longer-term development. While Mendes did not name him directly in every part of the interview, the advice was framed in a way that applies directly to a player at that stage of his career. At 18, Yamal is already established as one of Barcelona’s most important attacking players, but Mendes’ remarks place the focus on what comes next rather than what has already been achieved.
