MINO RAIOLA is a super-agent in the world of football.
The Italian looks after the likes of Manchester United’s Paul Pogba, Borussia Dortmund star Erling Haaland and the legendary Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Credit: Getty – Contributor
Super-agent Mino Raiola has represented some of the biggest names
Who was Mino Raiola?
Born in Nocera Inferiore in Salerno, Nales, Raiola and his family moved to Haarlem in Holland when he was just one.
They opened a pizzeria called Napoli and this soon expanded to 11 restaurants but at the age of 19 he striked out on his own.
He became a millionaire before he turned 20 after buying and selling a local McDonalds to a property developer.
There had been some false reports that he died from a lung condition aged 54 on April 28, 2022 – though it is believed he is suffering from health problems in hospital.
A tweet from Raiola’s official account read: “Current health status for the ones wondering: p***** off second time in 4 months they kill me. Seem also able to [sic] ressuscitate.”
Raiola briefly played for FC Haarlem but after dropping out of a law degree, he became the technical director of the club.
His career took another twist at 25 when he joined Sport-Promotion.
They handled deals for footballers including Arsenal star Dennis Bergkamp.
Mino Raiola was involved in the deal which saw Henrikh Mkhitaryan move to ArsenalCredit: Getty – Contributor
How did he get noticed as an agent?
IN 1996, he oversaw a move for Pavel Nedved.
The Czech player moved from Sparta Prague to Lazio for £12million.
Then in 2001, Nedved was on the move again when he transferred to Juventus in a £25million deal.
Who else does he represent?
TWO years after Nedved moved to Juventus, Raiola landed one of his biggest clients – Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Despite Ibra not initially warming to Raiola, he has stayed with the Italian agent ever since.
Raiola has over 20 players playing in the European leagues on his books.
He was involved in the swap deal which saw Mkhitaryan move from United to Arsenal during the January transfer window and Alexis Sanchez move north to the Red Devils.
Other names on Raiola’s books included Mario Balotelli and Gianluigi Donnarumma.
How long has he represented Pogba?
IN August 2016, he closed the world record transfer which saw Pogba move to Manchester United.
He reportedly made €25 million from the transfer and bought a house in Miami which used to belong to Al Capone.
