Jorge Mendes’ big night at the Global Football Industry Awards
Polaris Sports has confirmed that Jorge Mendes has been honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2025 Global Football Industry Awards – formal recognition of a career that has reshaped the modern transfer market and the role of the football agent.
In the same ceremony, his agency Gestifute was also named winner of the Inspirational Global Football Business Award, underlining the influence of the company Mendes founded nearly three decades ago.
As Polaris put it in their announcement, “Jorge Mendes has been honoured with the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award at the Global Football Industry Awards, a tribute to a visionary career that has redefined the game. Gestifute was also recognised with the Inspirational Global Football Business Award, celebrating a legacy of vision, excellence, and an unwavering commitment to inspiring the future of football.”
The accolades arrive in a year where the Global Football Industry Awards – organised in association with The Telegraph – have quickly established themselves as one of the flagship business-side events in the sport, bringing together clubs, leagues, agencies, investors and service providers in London to celebrate excellence across the global game.
Who is Jorge Mendes?
From video shop owner to super-agent
Born in Lisbon in 1966, Jorge Mendes did not come through the traditional legal or federation pathway that many early agents followed. Before entering football, he ran a video rental shop and a bar in northern Portugal, building the network and people skills that would later define his work in the game.
His break came in the mid-1990s when he helped negotiate goalkeeper Nuno’s move from Vitória de Guimarães to Deportivo La Coruña. Soon after, Mendes founded Gestifute in 1996 and began assembling a client list that would change the power balance of European football.
Architect of era-defining careers
Over the following decades, Mendes became synonymous with some of the biggest careers and transfer sagas in modern football. Gestifute has represented:
- Cristiano Ronaldo – overseeing moves from Sporting CP to Manchester United, to Real Madrid, Juventus and back to United, as well as the CR7 global brand off the pitch.
- José Mourinho – guiding one of the most decorated coaching careers of the 21st century, from Porto and Chelsea to Inter, Real Madrid and beyond.
- Stars such as Lamine Yamal, James Rodríguez, Ángel Di María, Radamel Falcao and many others whose transfers often set or approached record fees in their respective leagues.
Mendes has already been named Best Agent multiple times at the Globe Soccer Awards and was crowned Agent of the Century in 2020 – accolades that now sit alongside this new Lifetime Achievement recognition from the Global Football Industry Awards. In our previous article, we informed about the PLG Agency being crowned Agency of the Year.
Gestifute – the agency behind the awards
Building a global powerhouse
Founded in 1996 and based in Porto, Gestifute started as a boutique Portuguese agency and evolved into one of the most influential representation firms in world football.
Gestifute’s model is built on:
- A strong presence in Portugal’s talent pipeline, particularly at clubs like Sporting, Benfica and Porto.
- Deep relationships with leading clubs in England, Spain and Italy, which have been frequent destinations for their clients.
- An integrated approach that spans contract negotiation, career planning, commercial deals and long-term brand strategy for players and coaches.
The Inspirational Global Football Business Award acknowledges not just transfer fees or star names, but the agency’s broader impact on how modern football is structured – from the sophistication of deals to the way clubs and players think about value, image rights and long-term planning.
Polaris Sports – the commercial wing
While Gestifute focuses on sporting representation, Polaris Sports acts as the commercial and marketing arm closely associated with Mendes’ universe.
Founded in partnership with Gestifute and Creative Artists Agency, Polaris specialises in image rights, sponsorships and global brand building for elite athletes, with Cristiano Ronaldo its flagship client.
Polaris works on:
- Global endorsement campaigns with blue-chip brands.
- Licensing, merchandising and lifestyle collaborations.
- Long-term brand architecture for athletes whose visibility extends beyond football
By announcing Mendes’ Lifetime Achievement Award, Polaris underlined how closely the two companies are intertwined – Gestifute driving the sporting side, Polaris amplifying global reach off the pitch.
What the Global Football Industry Awards represent
A new stage for the business of football
The Global Football Industry Awards (GFIA) were launched to recognise excellence off the pitch – from agencies and clubs to tech firms, broadcasters and commercial partners. The 2025 edition, staged in London and run in association with The Telegraph, brought together leading decision-makers across the sport’s ecosystem.
Categories range from Agency of the Year and Inspirational Global Football Business to sustainability, fan engagement and breakthrough business awards, placing Mendes and Gestifute’s honours alongside achievements from clubs, leagues and innovators across the industry.
Pundits and former players such as Jamie Carragher and Peter Crouch were among the high-profile figures involved on the night, underlining how the awards aim to bridge the gap between what fans see on the pitch and the business forces that shape the modern game.
Why Mendes’ double recognition matters
For Jorge Mendes, the Lifetime Achievement Award is a formal nod to a body of work that spans three decades, dozens of major trophies won by his clients and billions of euros in transfer value.
For Gestifute, the Inspirational Global Football Business Award confirms its status not just as a successful agency, but as a reference point for how representation, deal-making and long-term career management can be done at scale.
