He changed football
Legendary player agent Mino Raiola is dead
4/30/2022, 4:23 p.m
Mino Raiola turned the best football players in the world into very rich money machines, and he earned huge sums of money himself. Zlatan Ibrahimovic made the step to become a global brand with Raiola, most recently he worked on Erling Haaland’s career. Mino Raiola has passed away at the age of 54.
The legendary players’ agent Mino Raiola is dead. Superstar Erling Haaland’s advisor died at the age of 54 after a serious illness. This was confirmed by his family in a statement on Raiola’s verified Twitter account.
“It is with infinite sadness that we bid farewell to the most amazing football agent ever,” the statement said. “Mino fought to the end with the same vigor he defended our players at the negotiating table.” Raiola was a “part in the lives of so many players” and “wrote an unforgettable chapter in the history of modern football.” Last Thursday, false reports about the Italian’s death caused an international stir, the doctor treating him and Raiola’s agency firmly rejected them.
In addition to Dortmund’s star striker, Raiola, who grew up in the Netherlands, counted numerous top players such as Dennis Bergkamp, Pavel Nedved, Zlatan Ibrahimović, Paul Pogba, Gianluigi Donnarumma and Romelu Lukaku. He was considered one of the most influential agents in the business and was feared and respected for his negotiating skills.
At the beginning of January, Raiola had to undergo an operation in Milan. “Mino Raiola is undergoing the usual medical examinations that require anesthesia. Everything was planned and there were no emergency operations,” a spokeswoman for his agency told Sport1 at the time. After that he never appeared in public again. “I grew up in an entrepreneurial household, that shaped me. My father emigrated from Italy to Holland in 1968 and opened his first restaurant there. In the end he owned 25,” he recalled in a 2016 interview with “11 Friends”. “My family has always worked hard.” Raiola too. He spoke seven languages.
“Discovered a loophole in the transfer system”
Raiola had first helped out in the family business and at the same time started his career at a young age as sports director at HFC Haarem, but quickly made an appearance as sports director. “I actually didn’t do anything different than what I had already done in the restaurant: I looked closely and I used my brain. I read the contracts and regulations and discovered a gap in the transfer system,” he said about his beginnings that inspired him brought into the world via Haarlem.
He made his name with transfers of Dutch players in the early 1990s, but his breakthrough came when Pavel Nedved moved from Sparta Prague to Lazio Rome in 1996. In the 2000s he took over the career planning of Zlatan Ibrahimović. The Swede rose to become one of football’s most fascinating figures, also through his countless changes, from which Raiola earned well. “Forbes” estimated his private fortune in 2020 at 80 million euros.
“The players are looking for me. That was never different,” Raiola said in an interview with Sport1 last December about his way of working: “I don’t make any contracts. I only have a handshake. The players are all free. That’s important to me . I don’t want anyone to feel like they have to stay with me.”
“Crazy” Haaland “suits me”
This is how Haaland finally found Raiola. “He’s always been a big fan of Zlatan. We have a mutual friend who brought us together. We met, had a drink, talked for five minutes and shook hands,” Raiola said: “Erling wanted, I wanted . I had only seen him on videos before and immediately said: He suits me, he’s crazy.”
Most recently, of course, Raiola appeared in Germany primarily through his client Haaland. He still plays at Borussia Dortmund, as did Henrikh Mkhitaryan, whose departure caused upheaval. Raiola is said to have kicked a chair through the office of BVB Managing Director Hans-Joachim Watzke. But Dortmund kept working with him because they knew what they were getting. Also the show.
“You Know What You Get”
“In the past few years I’ve had to deal with numerous consultants – that’s probably in the three-digit range – and I have to break a lance for this Mino Raiola,” Zorc had defended him in a WDR podcast: “The talks, that we did with him and the things that we did with him are characterized by a high level of professionalism. What impresses me about it: You know what you’re getting. You know that Mother Teresa isn’t there. If you know that beforehand know, you can prepare for it.”
And Raiola was also forgiving. “I can get very loud when it comes to my boys,” he told Sport1. “I had a very bad relationship with Zorc, really, really bad. He must have really hated me. I never thought hate would turn into friendship. He has my maximum respect. He defends his club to the death.”
Raiola remained a mysterious figure until his demise. His death was vehemently denied. Even from his own Twitter account. “Current state of health for anyone who is interested: pissed off that they are killing me for the second time in four months. Seems to be able to rise again,” it said on his official account. The hospital in Milan also denied it. He fights for his survival.
“It’s a lie. It’s made up. It’s not true. Bye-bye,” a woman told SID reporter Thomas Nowag when he wanted to get confirmation of the death from Raiola’s agency. The excitement was great. But communication was still in Raiola’s hands. Just as he planned the careers of his players, he retained authority over his life to the end. But two days later, the 54-year-old consultant’s death was officially confirmed. The football world will change without him.