Manchester United to Be Questioned by Police over Bebe Deal

Manchester United will be questioned by Portuguese police as part of their investigations in to the controversial transfer of Bebe back in 2010.

The Red Devils signed the forward for £7.4 million on August 11, 2010. He would then go on to play only a handful of games for the English club throughout the time he was under contract.

What was perhaps most unusual, however, was the fact that Sir Alex Ferguson had never watched Bebe play before—in person or on film—before the lucrative deal was made. Bebe himself had only played one season of third-division Portuguese football before being signed.

It truly was one of the more bizarre deals in football history and one that left many commentators and writers scratching their hands as to what United were thinking.

The man believed to have orchestrated the Bebe deal—Goncalo Reis—was sacked as the player's agent just days before the ludicrous transfer went through.

Bebe's new agent—Jorge Mendes—was then rumored to have pocketed around £2.8 million from a deal that he really had nothing to do with.

Portuguese police are also investigating the deal as part of their search in to corruption on the part of the Vitoria Guimaraes football club.

The football club caught the attention of anti-corruption officers when they announced a profit of £16.5 million last year—despite an appalling year with both attendance and results.

However, when it comes to the actual transfer itself, the details are a little hazy, as Guardian writer David Conn states

"

United have always said they moved rapidly to conclude the deal to sign Bébé, and that he was the only player Ferguson has signed in his epic managerial career whom he had not watched at all before.

United said the manager signed Bébé following a recommendation by Carlos Queiroz, Ferguson's former assistant, then the coach of Portugal's national team. Queiroz's agent, too, was Mendes.

Bébé had moved to Mendes's company, Gestifute, only days before Mendes concluded the lucrative move to United...

"

Bebe played in just six matches for Manchester United, and only started in half of them. He scored his lone goal for the club in a League Cup match against Wolverhampton Wolves in October 2010.

What the future actually holds for the Red Devils and the police investigation is unclear but as Conn suggests—and as we all secretly thought—something wasn't quite right with this transfer.

A spokesperson for the Red Devils was quick to state that the club were completely participating with the investigation and that "nobody was suggesting that we have done anything wrong."

Not yet, anyway.

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