For a lot of Wolves fans, Matheus Nunes is public enemy number one – but an interesting claim has now been made about him after his exit from the club.
Nunes left Molineux on transfer deadline day, joining Manchester City.
The player went on strike to effectively force a move.
In the end, Wolves sold the player for £53 million, and subsequently brought in four players with his sale money.
Since leaving Wolves, Nunes has taken to social media once to suggest that there is more to the story of his exit, and that the lid could be lifted in the future..
But yesterday, Sky reporter and Wolves fans Johnny Phillips made an interesting claim about Nunes which may explain his striking antics…
Matheus Nunes had received assurances from agent Jorge Mendes that he could leave Wolves
Nunes has been lambasted by fans and pundits alike for going on strike at Wolves.
But apparently, the Portuguese may have done this because of what his agent Jorge Mendes had said to him previously.
Johnny Phillips, who is well connected at Wolves, says in his latest Express & Star column: “Nunes left under a cloud, but despite his regrettable behaviour it would be wrong to point the finger of blame entirely in the player’s direction.
“The former Sporting Lisbon midfielder was given assurances from his agent that he would be moved on this summer, at the latest, when he originally joined Wolves a year earlier and as the window wound down, he became frustrated.
“Of course, it should not be for an agent to dictate when a player moves – and as Wolves had little choice but to go along with Nunes’s wishes they did not get the best price for him – but this is where we are.”
Johnny Phillips claim makes Nunes’ antics more understandable, but no more acceptable
This is a really interesting claim from Phillips.
It had actually been suggested not long after Nunes joined Wolves that there was possible a gentleman’s agreement for him to leave after one season.
This makes it a little easier to understand why Nunes decided to go on strike.
That said, it does not make it any more acceptable. Nunes could still have trained and by the sounds of it, Wolves would have cooperated to make something happen.
His reputation has now taken a bit of battering as a result of his behaviour.