Deco Clarifies His Relationship with Raphinha’s Contract in Detail

Deco, the sporting director of Barcelona, made an appearance on Cadena Ser’s ‘Què t’hi jugues’ on Wednesday at noon. The executive wanted to personally and directly address information that the program had been working on for weeks, which could potentially compromise his role at the Catalan club. This information revealed that Deco still maintains active companies through which he conducted his agent work before joining Barcelona, and also that he sold the percentage of Raphinha’s contract belonging to him as a representative to an investment fund, which now receives payments directly from the club.

This arrangement involves a percentage, ranging from 3% to 10%, being received seasonally as long as the player continues to fulfill the contract signed with the club. Deco, who waived the 10% commission he would have been entitled to from Raphinha’s transfer from Leeds to Barcelona, believed that he did not have to do the same with the percentage of the contract: “I wasn’t going to give up what I had worked for. I didn’t earn money from deals I made dishonestly; I didn’t deceive anyone. I worked well and I was serious,” stated the executive.

To ensure these payments while serving as Barcelona’s sporting director, Deco sold this asset to an investment fund, as detailed in the information from ‘Què t’hi jugues’, albeit with a reduced share of the profit that this financial entity would obtain. Simultaneously, the club would pay the investment fund directly. “The club approved it, and I reached an agreement with Barcelona. It’s an internal matter. I did things correctly; everything I’ve done has been through my work, and no one has given me anything. I have no problem saying that I received payment for things I worked on,” defended the sporting director.

In fact, the percentage of Raphinha’s contract was not the only thing he sold to the investment fund: “Not just Raphinha’s, the initial idea was to sell almost everything I had,” Deco argued. However, he could not divest all his assets and companies because “some things are paid over time, I still have many things to collect and also to pay.”

Deco emphasized that he is no longer listed as an agent by FIFA and reiterated that he refused to receive the commission owed to him for the transfer between Leeds and Barcelona of Raphinha, which amounted to around four million euros: “I gave up so that Raphinha could come to Barcelona, he just wanted to come here, and Leeds did not comply with the agreement reached between clubs at the time. I stopped receiving this to make the numbers work.” In that regard, he is adamant that he has done nothing wrong and has informed Barcelona of everything: “Compliance knows everything. I can have whatever companies I want, and I won’t stop receiving payments for everything I’ve worked on. If it’s a problem for the club and Compliance, they can tell me, but I’m not doing anything illegal or committing any crimes. No one has given me anything.” Deco explained that the club’s officials also have no objection to him maintaining his active companies to continue distancing himself from his past as an agent. “If I wanted to hide something, I would have done it much better; these are public documents, and there is nothing to hide,” he concluded.