Division rivals allege that no Wolves player earns more than £20,000 a week

Complaints from Championship teams have been made directly to the EFL

They are unhappy about the influence super agent Jorge Mendes has at the club

Mendes acted as an advisor in Fosun International in the takeover of Wolves

Championship clubs with grievances over Wolverhampton Wanderers' march to promotion are arguing the side's star players earn much less than market rate to counter Financial Fair Play rules, Sportsmail understands.

According to sources, rivals allege that no player on the Wolves wage bill earns more than £20,000 per week, even though the likes of Ruben Neves and Diogo Jota arrived from Champions League clubs and would be expected to take home significantly more.

ADVERTISEMENT

Some of the Championship's top earners have signed £60,000 per week contracts.

Rivals allege that Ruben Neves (left) and Diogo Jota are paid less than £20,000 per week

Wolves have led the way in the Championship for most of the season and look set to go up

Complaints from the division's teams have been made to the EFL that the influence of agent Jorge Mendes at Wolves means the club is benefitting from advantageous financial agreements in potential breach of regulations.

Mendes acted as an advisor to Fosun International in the Chinese conglomerate's takeover of Wolves in July 2016 and retains a close relationship with the club's chairman Jeff Shi.

A subsidiary of Fosun's holds a percentage stake in Mendes's agency Gestifute, which represents Neves and Jota as well as manager Nuno Espirito Santo and around half of 25 players signed by Wolves in the past 18 months.

Click here to resize this module

Mendes is known to occasionally host a table in the directors' lounge at Molinuex and Sportsmail understands he has also visited Nuno's office after matches to discuss football with his client of more than 20 years.

It is not unusual for managers to invite friends into their inner sanctum but illustrates the role Mendes has played in Wolves' rise to six points clear at the top of the Championship.

Opponents however want the EFL to forensically analyse each deal involving Gestifute to establish if Wolves are benefitting unfairly from the Mendes link. They argue that paying players artificially low wages might enable Wolves to circumvent FFP rules, which if broken could result in a substantial fine or even a points deduction.

Championship rivals are unhappy with the influence super agent Jorge Mendes has at the club

Wolves are said to confident over accusations and while operating a strict wage structure they believe players have joined the club to be part of the aspirational project. Privately, officials cite this as good business practice.

Show Player

Aston Villa, who host Wolves on Saturday, are known to be among the main critics. Villa's wage bill for 2016-17 was £61.5million for example, while Wolves this week revealed salary costs of £28.2m for the same period.

Wolves reported a £23.2m loss last season and a similar total for this campaign would see the club surpass the £39m limit over a three-year period. They acknowledged the risk of 'financial and operational' sanctions in their annual accounts released on Wednesday. Other Championship clubs argue that Wolves maintaining a wage bill lower than market rate would be an improper way of staying the right side of the rules.

ADVERTISEMENT

Leeds are another club with a major problem over the EFL's approach to Wolves. Owner Andrea Radrizzani reacted to losing to Wolves on Wednesday night by suggesting on Twitter the Mendes relationship was not 'fair' or 'legal'. Radrizzani clarified his statement on Thursday to say he has 'long-standing concerns regarding agencies having direct influence within clubs which I believe could breach EFL rules.'

Leeds owner Andrea Radrizzani believes Mendes' relationship with Wolves is not 'legal'

The EFL held a board meeting in London on Thursday and released a subsequent statement, reading: 'At its meeting today the EFL Board considered at length the matter of the relationship between Wolverhampton Wanderers, majority shareholder of the club, Fosun and Jorge Mendes, in light of the recent concerns raised by a number of clubs.

'It was agreed that the EFL Executive will meet with the management of the club to reiterate the requirements of our regulations and those of the FA and will report back to the Board in due course.

'It should be noted that the club was explicitly informed in July 2016 of all the requirements it was expected to meet as part of the change of control, and appropriate arrangements were put in place to ensure compliance.

'The club has confirmed that the undertakings given at the time remain in place and are being complied with.'

The Championship league leader's latest win came away against Leeds on Wednesday night

A Wolves spokesman said: ‘We are very clear on FA and EFL regulations and always comply with them explicitly.

‘We welcome any form of communication with the EFL to reiterate our position, and we fully anticipate the release of a further EFL statement in support of Wolves and the club’s operations to bring a prompt resolution to this matter.’

Neil Warnock, whose side are second six points behind Wolves, said: 'All this talk of advantages - let them sign who they want. It doesn't bother me if they sign Neymar. I think it's great, I wish we had all contacts like they have. Good luck to them because they've been in the doldrums for so long.

'Mendes has got worldwide players, it was the same when I was at QPR in the Premier League - there were names coming at me from his players. They are using it and why not? That's football. If you can get an advantage, good luck to you, as long as it's not illegal. I don't see anything illegal in an agent helping a club.

ADVERTISEMENT

'You do get jealousies but I'm sure most of the people annoyed about it wish they were in the same situation.'