Gordon Deegan
Pre-tax profits at the Irish branch of the football 'super agency', Gestifute that represents Cristiano Ronaldo almost halved to €27.62 million in 2019.
New accounts filed by Gestifute International Ltd show that it sustained the large drop in pre-tax profits as revenues fell from €58.9 million to €32.3 million.
Pre-tax profits declined by 47.6% from €52.7 million to €27.6 million in the 12 months to the end of December 2019.
The Irish firm paid €25 million during the year in dividends to its shareholders.
Gestifute was founded by super agent Jorge Mendes who represents Ronaldo along with recently appointed Roma manager Jose Mourinho and a host of other international players.
The principal activity of the Irish company is providing consultancy and marketing services to professional sports people and sporting organisations.
The directors state that the main business risk is the ability of clients to switch to other consultancy providers.
Ronaldo's fortune
Forbes recently estimated Ronaldo’s 2020 earnings to be around $105 million (€86 million) and the Juventus player is the most followed athlete on social media with Instragam followers topping 200 million in 2020.
Separately, Forbes estimates Jorge Mendes' 2020 earnings to be $104 million, stating that Mendes has negotiated more than $1 billion in active contracts.
The Irish company has its registered office at One George's Quay Plaza, George's Quay in Dublin 2 and the directors state that the company plans to continue its present activities and current trading levels.
Gestifute International Ltd had accumulated profits of €42.8 million at the end of 2019, while its cash pile decreased from €7.9 million to €6.29 million.
The accounts show that the Irish firm’s tax bill for the year totalled €3.23 million and the company recorded post tax profits of €24.3 million.
The company’s controlling party is Start SGPS, a Portuguese-registered firm that is Mendes’s holding company for his businesses in sport.
