Luis Campos has joined Paris Saint-Germain, as expected. Since the championship's end, the Portuguese leader was announced as the successor of Brazilian Leonardo as sporting directors.
Campos (57), will be a different type of midfielder if the former player is indeed landed. His primary focus will be on recruiting. Paris Saint-Germain officially recognized his arrival as a "football advisor", not a sports director.
This arrival signals many changes for the Parisian workforce in this summer. This man is shown in the shadows.
Luis Campos was born in the same generation as Jose Mourinho. They met during a Porto physical education course and became close friends. Luis Campos quickly realized that he wouldn't be able to play professional football and decided to become a coach.
He is therefore part of the "Professor", just like Nuno Espirito Sante or Mourinho, who are certainly not pros, but have the uniqueity of touching on all aspects football in their training (training and physical preparation, video analysis ).
He was only 27 when he joined the first Espinho staff as a trainer and took over the Leiria club's reins in 1992 at the age of 27.
He has been a relative success as a coach, having coached 11 clubs over the course of 13 years. In 2005, he retired from coaching and became an advisor for various clubs.
His career took a turn when he reunited again with Jose Mourinho in 2010.
Mourinho, who had become the "Special" because of his success at Chelsea, was approached by Real Madrid to ask Campos to go with him to Spain in 2010. His mission? Examine the Champions League opponents and get involved in recruiting.
Campos works with Jorge Mendes, an agent very influential in Mourinho's game, to build his networks at Real. The point of becoming a major figure in world football.
Luis Campos left Real Madrid in 2010 and 2013 after three years. He moved to AS Monaco where he found a new home.
The relationship was fruitful and lasted for three years. He left the Rock in 2016, one year before the team he created for himself had dominated PSG in league.
He remains in Ligue 1 and, if his name appears on the sideline of OM, he eventually goes to Lille. Gerard Lopez, a businessman, took over the club. History repeats itself: from 2017 to 2020, he created a high-quality workforce capable of competing at the top of this table. A year later, Lille is again crowned champion.
He is now in Paris Saint-Germain's helm, and will be responsible for recruitment with the goal of winning the Champions League. He will likely need to be successful in three years.
In a statement Friday, Campos said that PSG welcomed "a pioneer in development and improvement, known for his innovative and modern approach". Campos will be responsible for recruitment in the French capital.
He is an expert in this role and knows it well. He has been trading for ten years and is an expert at poaching young talented players to resell them at high prices.
He isn't content to just value players. He also uses it to build great teams without necessarily piling on the stars like Paris.
It was witnessed in Monaco where he brought Fabinho and Bernardo Silva as well as Thomas Lemar. He also participated in the emergence Kylian Mbappe. After being sold for a fortune, all three players are now in the top clubs on the Old Continent.
Ditto in Lille. Nicolas Pepe has become Arsenal's most costly player. Rafael Leao is the recent Italian champion with AC Milan. Victor Osimhen was the largest transfer from the northern club. Jose Fonte... all of these venues bear the marks of Luis Campos.
His mission in Paris will be different. Paris already has a large team of high-quality players. He will have to search for the rare pearls that can complete the group and improve the overall level of his team.
He will be a part of the prospecting team for the new coach. Christophe Galtier, with whom he had rubbed shoulders in Lille, has returned with insistance in recent days. Even though Zinedine Zidane appears to have the favors.
