As much as the romanticist in us would like to believe that the beautiful game remains unsullied, it is true – now more than ever – that there are certain people who wield ungodly amounts of power in deciding the course of transfers, decisions and the direction of football as a whole.
With a steady growth in the influx of cash over the years due to billion dollar TV deals, leagues all over the world are in a much stronger position and there are no “lesser sides.” Every team worth its salt is capable of fighting it out with the big guns and has a shout at deciding where league titles end up, come the end of the season.
Football is a sport that transcends and seamlessly crosses cultures and socio-economic boundaries and the meteoric rise in popularity due to easier availability across the world has also seen certain people placed into positions of preposterous power.
As football continues to evolve at a rapid pace, both on the field and off it, these men will be responsible to ensure that the spirit and integrity of the game is upheld while simultaneously ensuring that it remains a commercially viable entity.
Here are those men who we feel are the most powerful in world football.
#10 Kia Joorabchian
Kia Joorabchian is an Iranian-born British businessman who is considered as one among the slew of “super-agents” that have gained considerable influence in football over the past decade.
A graduate of the University of London, Kia is less of an agent and more of a “fixer,” whose business primarily involves advising players and clubs of their rights during contract negotiations.
A huge player in world football, The Mirror estimates he received nearly 25% of the £180 million spent on foreign talent by Premier League clubs in 2009.
He’s the principal owner of Media Sports Investments, a company through which he owns the rights of several players from Europe and South America; Philippe Coutinho being one of his more famous clients.
Most recently responsible for Willian’s transfer to Chelsea from Anzhi Makhachkala, he’s also remembered for the controversial transfer of Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano from Corinthians to West Ham United in 2006.
#9 Javier Tebas
Many will recognise Tebas’s name from the recent inflammatory comments he made about Barcelona players, but the Costa Rican-born lawyer is also president of the governing body that oversees both the Spanish top-flight and the Segunda Division.
As president of the division that boasts of 2 of the biggest teams in world football – Barcelona and Real Madrid – Tebas has become one of the most powerful men in European and world football, apparently wielding more influence than Spanish FA president Angel Maria Villar.
One of Tebas’s fundamental goals has been to “clean up the game”, rooting out the corruption prevalent in Spanish football and reducing the financial disparity between the two biggest sides and the rest of the division.
#8 Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan
More popularly known as Sheikh Mansour, he is the deputy prime minister of the United Arab Emirates and a member of the ruling family of Abu Dhabi granting him considerable influence in both the political and sporting scene.
With a net worth estimated to be $38 billion, the Sheikh owns stakes in a number of business ventures including Sky Arabia. He’s also the owner of Abu Dhabi United Group (ABUG), a specialist investment group that successfully took over Manchester City in September 2008 and oversaw their transformation into one of the top contenders for the English top-flight.
He also founded Manchester City’s sister club, New York City FC that began playing in the MLS from the 2015 season and owns FC Melbourne City which participates in the Australian A-League.
Few have managed to shape the landscape of football as much as Mansour, with the billions he has poured into the sport upsetting traditional monopolies in the various leagues.
#7 Giampaolo Pozzo
Giampaolo Pozzo is a part of the Pozzo family, the first ever family to own clubs in the top flights of England (Watford F.C), and Italy (Udinese Calcio) at the same time. Though his reign hasn’t been without controversy, he has managed to build a footballing empire that has changed the fates of the clubs he has taken over.
His takeover of Watford saw them transformed from Championship also-rans to a stable top-flight club. His footballing legacy began with Udinese, buying them shortly after they became embroiled in a betting scandal. He developed an extensive scouting network at the club helping them pick up some of the best young talents in the world and sell them for a vast profit, their most notable success being Alexis Sanchez.
He was also elected as president of Serie A during 2007-08 and though he now lets his son, Gino Pozzo, carry out all the footballing related activity, his influence within the game will not be waning any time soon.
#6 David Beckham
David Beckham is arguably the most recognisable athlete on the planet. His exemplary footballing career and incredible looks have springboarded him into stardom; popularly even having a movie name in his likeness.
While he may not be the greatest purely in terms of skill alone, there is a point in saying that no one has increased the popularity of the sport quite like him in the past few decades.
He was also chiefly responsible for increasing the popularity of the MLS after moving there in 2007, helping LA Galaxy vastly improve their brand name in the process. Beckham has also taken up various ambassadorial roles, helping develop Chinese football and helping promote the 2012 London Olympics.
His name carries weight to it and if you associate him to your football project, the likelihood of success automatically increases.
#5 Mino Raiola
Most recently in the news for Paul Pogba’s world record transfer from Juventus to Manchester United – where he reportedly pocketed £24 million – the Italian is also responsible for some of the most high-profile clients in the footballing world; brokering a deal to transfer Frank Rijkaard from Milan to Sporting Lisbon.
His long list of clients includes the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Mario Balotelli, Marek Hamsik and many more. Since 2004, he has helped the Swede generate more than €100 million in transfer fees, including a €49 million deal that saw him move from Inter Milan to Barcelona.
Because he plays such a significant role in deciding the transfers of some of the best players in the world, clubs ensure that they always maintain a healthy relationship with him, consequently, he holds considerable influence over some of the world’s biggest clubs.
#4 Richard Scudamore
Richard Scudamore was elected as the President of the Premier League all the way back in 1999. Since then, he has been at the forefront of TV broadcasting rights negotiations that has seen teams pocket in excess of €7 billion.
These agreements have seen the league become widely accessible throughout the world, with people tuning in to watch from over 200 different countries.
Scudamore has been one of the most progressive Presidents, doing everything in his power to expand the league’s reach even further; he famously proposed that clubs play an additional league match a season overseas.
He has been constantly working on measures to ensure that clubs do not accumulate debt by needlessly spending and going down the same path as Leeds United and Portsmouth before them.
#3 Michel Platini
Michel Platini is currently serving an eight-year ban from football after being found guilty of corruption charges, but still maintains his status as one of the most powerful men in world football.
Initially elected as President of UEFA, European football’s primary governing body, Platini holds considerable influence in footballing boardrooms and among players, helped in no small part due to having an extraordinary playing career.
Corruption charges aside, he brought Financial Fair Play to the table, in the hope that the financial disparity between the biggest clubs and the minnows isn’t furthered in the coming years. The objective was to encourage long-term investment, and essentially protect clubs from themselves when it came to spending and competing with the bigger clubs.
Though its success can be debated, the intentions were pretty clear and the latest reports indicate 46 different clubs have managed to improve their finances to avoid the penalties dictated by the act.
#2 Sepp Blatter
Sepp Blatter joined Michel Platini in serving an eight-year ban from all things related to football after being found guilty of corruption charges, but love him or hate him, he held the post of President of FIFA between 1998 and 2015.
Though his reign has been filled with allegations, controversies and financial mismanagement, he has also applied many initiatives to better the sport, including the “silver-goal rule”, the automatic World Cup berth for the defending champion and the automatic yellow for shirt removal.
Towards the end of his tenure, he seemed to lose all credibility but still wielded enough power to punish those who were too forceful in their objections.
#1 Qatari Royal Family
The mere fact that the World Cup is being hosted in Qatar should indicate the kind of power the Qatari royal family exercises in world football. Their bid beat the likes of Australia, Japan, South Korea and the USA and will host the most widely viewed competition in the world in 2022.
Even though reports that they were planning on establishing a Qatar Dream League turned out to be false, the seemingly endless resources of this small nation isn’t to be taken lightly on any accounts.
Within Qatar, the royal family bought Spanish side Malaga in 2010 and the Qatar foundation reached a five-year €150 million shirt sponsorship deal with Barcelona. There were even reports suggesting that they bid €1.89 billion to buy Manchester United from the Glazer family.
