Aston Villa owner Tony Xia has claimed that Championship rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers have an advantage over his side in the transfer market due to their association with renowned agent Jorge Mendes.
The Chinese businessman insinuated that table-topping Wolves would not have been able to attract players like Diogo Jota and Ruben Neves without the Portuguese's influence.
"Wolves didn't need spend much but get loan those players due to M (Mendes) connection. No other clubs can get player like Jota playing in championship, and with very low wage too," Xia wrote on Twitter.
Mendes, whose clients include Cristiano Ronaldo, David de Gea, Diego Costa and Jose Mourinho, acts as an adviser to Wolves' owners Fosun International.
Wolves will take on Barnsley in the Championship this weekend, while Villa travel to Nottingham Forest for the evening kickoff.
Written by
Mark Langshaw
Mark Langshaw
