Portuguese authorities are investigating the € 9million (£ 7.7million) paid to two agents in the € 50million transfer that saw Brazilian defender Éder Militão move from Porto to Real Madrid in 2019.

The deal is being investigated by the Departamento Central de Investigacao e Accao Penal (DCIAP) as part of “Operation Red Card”. Earlier this week, the investigation led to the arrest of Benfica president Luis Filipe Vieira as well as his son and well-known agent Bruno Macedo. Vieira – who resigned from his post on Thursday and remains under house arrest after denying the charges – and Macedo are accused of orchestrating a tax evasion and money laundering scheme since 2014 with some of the charges linked to transferred players in Benfica.

But a report in a Portuguese newspaper Public this week also claimed that the investigation focused on commissions paid by Porto to Macedo and his partner – Giuliano Bertolucci – on the Militão deal when the Brazilian defender joined Madrid in June 2019.

Militão was sold for € 50million and Porto state in their annual report that they have earned € 28.4million since leaving. According to the accounts, the remaining 21.6 million euros were received by three parties, including two named Macedo and Bertolucci.

Fees of € 3.5million were paid to Macedo’s company – BM Consulting – while Bertolucci, the agent for former Arsenal defender David Luiz, was reportedly given a fee, but nothing in the document does not indicate how much.

Separately, there has also been speculation as to who owns the rights to Militão, with São Paulo’s accounts appearing to show they were sold twice when he moved to Porto in 2018: once on the Portuguese side for 7 million euros and also German debt. finance company, Score Capital AG, for nearly € 18 million.

The Munich-based website of the German company describes itself as “the pan-European expert in working capital financing for professional football clubs” having granted loans to Atlético Madrid among others in the past. It is not known why Score Capital would be interested in such a purchase: the holder of the federative rights of a player has the right to register the footballer to represent him in competition, which seems of little use to Score Capital, a boutique financial institution. .

In 2015, Fifa banned companies from owning players’ economic rights, following repeated controversies over third-party ownership. São Paulo’s financial records are explicit in indicating that it is the federative rights – rather than the economic rights – that Score Capital has acquired.

However, Score Capital told the Guardian by email that they “do not hold federative rights to the Militão player”. When asked if the fact that São Paulo’s accounts indicate that they had done so was an oversight, they replied, “That question you need to ask São Paulo? ”

São Paulo and Porto have not responded to repeated requests for comment from the Guardian, although a statement from the Portuguese club Thursday night said they “had never been questioned, heard or questioned in any type of investigation or due diligence “on the transfer involving Militão and that they had been” duly documented with the requisite transparency “.

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In São Paulo’s 2018-19 annual report – in a section entitled “Third party participation in economic rights” – the Brazilian club indicates that it has paid around 1.3 million euros to a company owned by Bertolucci. The agent would receive another payment of € 2 million a year later through the same company. Both payments were made in connection with Militão. Bertolucci and Macedo are renowned for their relationships with Brazilian and Portuguese clubs. Bertolucci has been a personal source of funding for a number of Brazilian clubs, loaning money to Santos and the Corinthians in 2017.

Macedo is the son of Vespasiano Macedo, a longtime lawyer for Braga President Antonio Salvador. Bruno, Vespasiano and Salvador are all shareholders of the Brazilian company Vespasiano – Investimentos Imobiliarios LTDA, with super-agent Jorge Mendes. In 2018-19 alone, Porto’s books indicate that they owe Bruno Macedo’s two companies – Yes Sports LDA and BM Consulting – more than 4.5 million euros in fees.