The Italy-born agent has established a reputation as one of the most elite representatives in the industry.
Mino Raiola is one of the first names that comes to mind when speaking about football agents. It’s impossible to not stumble upon Raiola’s name when checking your favourite club’s next transfer target.
On Thursday, the Italy-born Dutchman dismissed reports about his death. The media were already speculating about his death’s huge impact on the transfer market when the 54-year-old hit back with a Tweet.
Let’s take a look at the best players represented by Raiola.
In order to have a five-man list, we had to exclude the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimoivc, Stefan de Vrij, Ryan Gravenberch, and Moise Keane from our list.
5- Marco Verratti
Verratti hired Raiola when he sacked Donato Di Campli in 2017. It came amid heavy links with a move to Barcelona, which ultimately fell through.
Two years later, Raiola secured a new contract extension for Veratti until 2024. The Italy international has developed into a key figure in PSG’s midfield since joining the club in 2012.
He has won eight Ligue 1 titles, six Coupe de France trophies and six League Cups at Parc des Prince. The former Pescara star also played a crucial role in Italy’s title-winning campaign of Euro 2020.
4- Paul Pogba
Most of Raiola’s controversial interviews in recent years have been about Pogba’s future at Manchester United.
It was Raiola himself that closed a sensational €105 million deal to transfer the Frenchman to Old Trafford, reportedly earning €25 million in the process.
Despite showing flashes of brilliance, Pogba has failed to live up to expectations at Man United. Struggles for form and fitness have prevented the World Cup winner from reaching his full potential in recent seasons.
Nevertheless, Pogba has remained one of the most talked-about players during the transfer windows.
Reports of a potential return to Juventus have been intensified since United confirmed the signing of Eric ten Hag as their new manager. But, as always, we should look for Raiola’s hints to see where his client might end up next.
3- Gianluigi Donnarumma
Donnarumma’s move to PSG in July 2021 suddenly turned Raiola into a villain at San Siro. AC Milan fans blamed the super-agent for the goalkeeper’s move.
However, Raiola, later on, revealed his client had personally asked for a transfer to Parc des Princes.
Representing Donnarumma shows how flexible Raiola’s agency can be when it comes to young talents. He secured a €12 million-per-year salary for his client at PSG, doubling what he previously earned at Milan.
Donnarumma has spent a mixed debut campaign at PSG so far. The Italian goalkeeper won the Ligue 1 title with the French giants last week.
However, his deadly blunder against Real Madrid in the Champions League attracted a lot of criticism from PSG fans earlier this season.
2- Matthijs de Ligt
Raiola was one of the biggest winners of De Ligt’s quick rise to stardom under Eric ten Hag. A brilliant 2018-19 campaign at Ajax saw De Ligt suddenly turn into one of the most in-demand centre-backs in the world.
Juventus secured a move for De Ligt in July 2019, with the Dutchman immediately securing a place in the Bianconeri’s lineup. At the time, it was reported that Raiola had earned around €11m in commission for securing the deal.
De Ligt has gone on to continue his crucial role at the heart of Juventus’ backline. However, since the last summer, rumours around his potential move to the Premier League have intensified again.
Chelsea are reportedly willing to pay De Ligt’s €120million release clause as they want to replace the recently-departed Antonio Rudiger.
1- Erling Haaland
Haaland is undoubtedly Raiola’s top client at the moment, with almost every elite club in Europe interested in signing him. The Norwegian superstar is co-represented by his dad and the Dutch agent.
Since moving to Borussia Dortmund from Salzburg in January 2020, Haaland has established a reputation as one of the best strikers in the world. The 21-year-old has scored 18 goals and provided eight assists in his 21 appearances for the German giants this season.
Manchester City are currently leading the race to sign Haaland. However, Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Bayern Munich are also closely following the situation.
Haaland’s future will also depend on Kylian Mbappe’s potential departure from PSG. If the Frenchman stays at Parc des Prince, then we will most likely see Real Madrid reinforce their efforts to bring the Norwegian striker to Santiago Bernabeu.
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