According to several Italian media, Mino Raiola died on Thursday at the age of 54. The Italian was one of the most influential agents in the world of football.
Mino Raiola, the agent of many football stars, died on Thursday at the age of 54. The information was given by the journalist Tancredi Palmeri, then confirmed by Tuttosport, La Repubblica and The Gazzetta dello Sport. He had undergone emergency surgery at the beginning of the year due to a lung disease, then placed in intensive care. His condition had worsened in recent weeks.
The Italian had become one of the star super-agents of the football world. Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Marco Verratti, Erling Haaland or Paul Pogba were notably represented by Mino Raiola. He had negotiated several major transfers during his career, like that of the French midfielder in 2016 at Manchester United for more than 105 million euros.
4th most powerful sports agent in the world
Mino Raiola, born November 4, 1967 in Nocera Inferiore (Italy), grew up in the Netherlands, where he first embarked on a career as a pizza maker. He then converted to a career as an agent, notably taking Dutch international Denis Bergkamp under his wing. His influence is expanding rapidly. He became a key player in the transfer window from the end of the 2000s, notably with the transfer of Zlatan Ibrahimovic from Inter to FC Barcelona in 2009, or that of Mario Balotelli to Manchester City in 2010.
In 2020, Forbes names him as the 4th most powerful agent in the world of sports. He would have pocketed 85 million dollars (81 million euros) during that year.
Recently, two burning files of the football transfer window were associated with his name: that of the Norwegian prodigy Erling Haaland, whom all of Europe is tearing off, and that of Paul Pogba, at the end of the contract at Manchester United.