Football super-agent Mendes moves into cycling with Almeida and Guerreiro deal

LAGHI DI CANCANO ITALY OCTOBER 22 Start Joao Almeida of Portugal and Team Deceuninck QuickStep Pink Leader Jersey Ruben Guerreiro of Portugal and Team EF Pro Cycling Blue Mountain Jersey during the 103rd Giro dItalia 2020 Stage 18 a 207km stage from Pinzolo to Laghi di Cancano Parco Nazionale dello Stelvio 1945m girodiitalia Giro on October 22 2020 in Laghi di Cancano Italy Photo by Tim de WaeleGetty Images
Almeida and Guerreiro at the start of stage 18 of the 2020 Giro d'Italia (Image credit: Getty Images Sport)

Football super-agent Jorge Mendes has made a foray into the world of cycling with his sports marketing company Polaris Sports partnering with João Correia's Corso Sports.

The deal means that Portuguese riders João Almeida (Deceuninck-QuickStep) and Rubén Guerreiro (EF Education-Nippo) will be promoted by Polaris.

Mendes is one of the famed 'super-agents' in the world of football, representing Juventus' Cristiano Ronaldo, manager José Mourinho and Everton star James Rodriguez, while being heavily involved in teams such as Wolverhampton Wanderers, Monaco and Atletico Madrid via his GestiFute company. He also represents stars of other sports, including F1 driver Charles Leclerc.

Corso, meanwhile, represents a swathe of talented young riders throughout the pro peloton, including 2019 world champion Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo), Giro d'Italia winner Tao Geoghegan Hart (Ineos Grenadiers), Tour de France stage winner Søren Kragh Andersen (Team DSM), and time trial specialist Mikkel Bjerg (UAE Team Emirates).

"Polaris Sports and Corso have just established a partnership agreement which aims to optimise the commercial perspectives of Portuguese athletes that work with [Corso] in an association that is expected to be fruitful and successful," read a press release issued by Polaris.

Almeida and Guerreiro, who, like several other Corso clients, both came through the ranks at Hagens Berman Axeon, were breakout stars at the 2020 Giro d'Italia. Almeida, a neo-pro last season, held the maglia rosa for two weeks, only ceding it on the Stelvio on stage 17 before finishing fourth in Milan. Guerreiro, meanwhile, won the blue mountains jersey and won stage 9 to Roccaraso.

After a stellar season, Guerreiro suffered a scary end to 2020 after being hit by a motorist while out training last week. The 26-year-old suffered a fracture clavicle and will undergo surgery.

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Daniel Ostanek
Production editor

Daniel Ostanek is production editor at Cyclingnews, having joined in 2017 as a freelance contributor and later being hired as staff writer. Prior to joining the team, he had written for most major publications in the cycling world, including CyclingWeekly, Rouleur, and CyclingTips.

 

Daniel has reported from the world's top races, including the Tour de France and the spring Classics, and has interviewed many of the sport's biggest stars, including Wout van Aert, Remco Evenepoel, Demi Vollering, and Anna van der Breggen.

 

As well as original reporting, news and feature writing, and production work, Daniel also runs The Leadout newsletter and oversees How to Watch guides throughout the season. His favourite races are Strade Bianche and the Volta a Portugal, and he rides a Colnago C40.