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Viewers who weren’t fully committed to ‘All or nothing,’ the Amazon Prime documentary chronicling Spurs’ first season with José Mourinho, may have missed the central Irish accent in a scene that reflects the completion of negotiations with him. Portuguese technician.
There was no explanation of its purpose, there were no more interactions to reveal the identity of this man in his thirties sitting next to Daniel Levy for the injection of money, emphasizing that the deal was done.
“We were right to keep that quiet, right?” says the Dubliner, “That is not an easy job.”
Matt O’Donohoe has largely managed to keep his name out of the spotlight, but if you know where to look, the face keeps popping up.
When talking about the Mourinho field in the context of any news, it is assumed that the super agent Jorge Mendes is fundamental to him, but their relationship has cooled. The Israeli negotiator, Pini Zahavi, was reportedly called in to negotiate key aspects of his deal with the Spurs.
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A screenshot of O’Donohue with Tottenham president Daniel Levy in the Amazon Prime documentary ‘All or Nothing’
But it is his business agent O’Donohoe, from Clontarf, who is now regarded as the closest to a right hand man for the 57-year-old in terms of everyday interactions.
In fact, this has been the case for some time, and there is a catalog of photos of Mourinho attending non-football events (guest appearances at rugby or tennis matches) with the same Irish head leading his entourage. He is without captions in images with familiar names, ignored in a camera shot that captures him in the same row as Mourinho, Hugh Grant and Will Young at a tennis competition.
“Matt is pretty much Jose’s best friend,” says a London-based executive, reflecting an opinion that was shared by several people contacted for this article. O’Donohoe did not respond to a request for comment.
He is a busy man, an influential presence who is well known in his field but has avoided the attention of the press. Mourinho’s angle is just one aspect of his workload, and he’s underestimating his mandate to focus on that.
O’Donohoe is the director of international sports at the Creative Artists Agency (CAA), which describes itself as “the largest talent representation company in the world,” with its origins in the United States and Hollywood, where its business was seeking lucrative partnerships for the stars. from his stable.
Rather than making club-to-club deals, CAA arranges contracts with high-spending sponsors, brand ambassador arrangements with designer watch companies or luxury cars or wherever the money is. However, CAA’s tentacles are spreading, and last year they acquired an agency, BASE, a firm of soccer agents in the traditional sense of the word in the transfer market, to gain traction.
However, endorsement deals are his bread and butter.
In 2016, Mourinho was reported to be earning an additional £ 10 million per year on top of his salary at Manchester United due to deals with Heineken, Hublot, Jaguar, BT Sport, adidas, Lipton Tea, EA Sports and Atlantis Hotels.
CAA is the intermediary for those transactions.
O’Donohoe’s LinkedIn casually lists select clients such as Mourinho, Cristiano Ronaldo, Harry Kane, Nico Rosberg, Golden State Warriors, and Barcelona.
Following
He is also a player in the golf market. When Patrick Reed claimed the green jacket from the US Masters in 2018, the ‘Daily Mail’ noted that O’Donohoe, his European representative, was following him into the final round in Augusta. Reed was playing with Rory McIlroy, another O’Donohoe contact.
Obviously, it moves in the correct circles. It is a trait that passes on to the family. His older brother, Damien, enjoys a higher profile at home. Brian O’Driscoll’s godfather and business partner has made waves in a variety of fields, managing sports stars and bands, and his biggest project has proven to be taking on the role of CEO in establishing the Caribbean Cricket League. Younger brother Paul is a former professional rugby player and partner at Greencastle Capital, an investment firm that just took over Joe.ie.
Matt stands firm on his own two feet, although contacts feel that Damien’s connections helped him get one foot up the ladder when he moved to London after completing a Bachelor of Business in Galway (2004) and qualifying through the Institute. of Chartered Accountants along with working at PriceWaterhouseCooper until 2008.
He joined CAA as a junior figure when they were trying to break into the European market by hiring a high-level executive team led by Peter Kenyon, the former CEO of Manchester United and Chelsea. In the United States, he was frustrated by the poor performance of the overseas wing.
“They flew first class everywhere and were well paid, but they were not bringing money,” says a source who worked closely with the company at that point. What followed was essentially a carnage of the operation, but O’Donohoe survived, with a greater position of influence.
CAA staff felt they always handled relations with the US wisely, and heard stories of top brass arriving in the country to be picked up by a friendly face at the airport and taken to intimate concerts with Mumford and Sons. or other musicians of that type. it would have been accessible through her brother.
“Matt is an excellent network contributor,” says another source, who felt that Americans always had the clear impression that Matt could succeed where others had failed. “He’s very good at maneuvering situations.”
“Damien would be more charismatic,” adds another voice from the UK familiar with the family. “Matt would be more discreet. But he’s worked really hard and earned the trust of the right people. With CAA, he navigated rough waters.”
Mourinho’s link emerged through CAA and Kenyon’s alliance with Gestifute, the company founded by Mendes that has a registered office in Dublin as part of a global operation managing iconic figures like Mourinho and Ronaldo.
CAA and Gestifute have parted ways, but O’Donohoe had worked on Mourinho’s angle enough to become a vital part of their inner circle.
O’Donohoe closely follows media comments about Mourinho, inviting a journalist for an exclusive interview on the back of a positive article, while also criticizing other outlets for their coverage of his tense final days at Chelsea. This was the point at which UK journalists became aware of his presence.
“Protector” is a word that comes up repeatedly. I was regularly traveling back and forth to Manchester when Mourinho was on-site at The Lowry Hotel during his tumultuous time in charge of the Red Devils and there is a view on the football circuit that they click on because the roles in their union are so clearly defined. .
“Jose loves it when someone kisses his ass,” says a source bluntly, detailing how an established public double act dynamic is that the manager openly mocks his Irish assistant. The mockery of one person is the joke of another, and it would not be unusual for a partner to take that place when aligning himself with a dominant character like Mourinho.
A mutual contact of the pair says it would be unwise to minimize the agent’s influence behind the scenes. “He leads José” is the verdict. “He’s smart and highly respected.”
In a dog-eat-dog environment, he has established himself as an integral part of CAA, and old colleagues speak of a tireless worker who is territorial when it comes to taking care of his land. “What you know is how to pick the right people,” says another voice from the UK. “And he will work it to death. He agrees.”
CAA’s ongoing expansion means they are outgrowing office space, with a base in Hammersmith in the same complex as Dazn’s home, the streaming service that is integral to the global boxing fights of big companies. An English wing of Qatari Sports Investments is also nearby. There’s a lot going on in an evolving sports market and O’Donohoe is at the center of it all.
Raphael Varane has recently enrolled in CAA, as they are making more inroads into the Formula 1 domain. Executive recruiting is another service they provide.
While it takes a tough streak to assert power internally, brand management demands the ability to push in the flesh and people working in the broad area of sponsorship have only good things to say, outlining how O’Donohoe will go. ‘ beyond ‘what customers ask for.
Different
“It’s very different from a London-style Cockney agent,” says an industry source. “He seems more realistic, he’s Irish and he’s well liked. He’s got a bit more substance.”
Another Irish voice in London says: “You may have a reputation that you would sell your grandmother to make a deal, but I had never seen it.”
After taking over BASE last year, he gave a rare interview to a sports business website that details how companies keep coming to CAA rather than the other way around.
“I have been here eight years and I don’t think there has been a period of two months where nobody has approached us to explore the opportunity to sell their business,” he said. “Our eyes and ears are always open to opportunities, but the cultural fit must be right, and we are in no rush to buy everything.”
In other words, business has done well, although no company is immune from the pandemic, and the US headquarters recently laid off several employees and let others go. But there is much more to O’Donohoe’s existence than Mourinho, even if he is the benchmark for many people who have known him.
There is apparently a joke between the duo centered around The Late Late Show’s continued attempts to get Mourinho to move on. If he finally appears on RTÉ screens on a Friday night, rest assured that a local boy will have made it possible.
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