Born in Italy in 1967, Raiola moved to the Netherlands a year later where he represented the HFC Haarlem as a player at the youth level. He remained in football despite not making it as a professional player to become an agent.
New Delhi: One of the most influential agent in the world Mino Raiola passed away on Saturday. He was 54. Raiola has represented players like Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Paul Pogba and Erling Haaland.
Taking to Twitter through his account, his family said, “In infinite sorrow, we share the passing of the most caring and amazing football agent that ever was. Mino fought until the end with the same strength he put on negotiation tables to defend our players. As usual, Mino made us proud and never realised it. Mino touched so many lives through his work and wrote a new chapter in the history of modern football. His presence will forever be missed. Mino’s mission of making football a better place for players will continue with the same passion. “We thank everybody for the huge amount of support received during these difficult times and ask for respect to the privacy of family and friends in this moment of grief.”
The confirmation from Raiola’s family came two days after rumours of his death spread. According to Sky Sports, Alberto Zangrillo, the head of the anaesthesia and intensive care unit of San Raffaele hospital in Milan, where Raiola was being treated, said, “I am outraged by the phone calls from pseudo-journalists who speculate on the life of a man who is fighting.”
Born in Italy in 1967, Raiola moved to the Netherlands a year later where he represented the HFC Haarlem as a player at the youth level. He remained in football despite not making it as a professional player to become an agent, initially working for a company called Sports Promotions.
According to ESPN, he then left to start his own business and his first major independent transfer was Pavel Nedved’s move from Sparta Prague to Lazio in 1996. In 2016, he brokered the then world-record transfer of Pogba from Juventus to Manchester United for £89.3 million.
