When the transfer window opens, two super agents, Mino Raiola and Jorge Mendes are the ones who stay busy by trying to get their clients the right deals. The former is a reputed super agent because he has close to 30 clients which include current and past footballers as well as managers.
He is the agent of some of the biggest players like Manchester United's latest duo of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Henrikh Mkhitaryan, as well as Juventus' Paul Pogba. But here we talk about some of the other big name players you did not know are managed by Raiola:
#1 Mario Balotelli
Mario Balotelli burst onto the footballing world when he showed glimpses of excellence while playing for Inter Milan under manager Roberto Mancini in 2008. The former was only 17-years old and was expected to be one of the top players in the world given the talent he possessed. But his disciplinary record on and off the field led to his decline in subsequent years. Since then, the Italian has represented the likes of Manchester City, AC Milan and Liverpool. But his happy days have a taken a hit.
What might surprise many others is that Mino Raiola has been the striker’s agent since his Inter days. Raiola is not the one who listens to managers who dictate their terms. Hence he came up with a quirky statement that described Balotelli’s position currently, “I saw him on Monday and said...I’m not taking you away. Either you leave Liverpool for €60m or €70m and I win the bet or you die there.”
The statement came after Klopp’s public statement that Balotelli is not in his plans. Raiola had further said, “His (Balotelli’s) option now is Liverpool, and that is a great option.”
But reports in the English media have suggested that Raiola is looking for options outside England for his client. Dutch club Ajax and Italian club Napoli are both said to be in the race to sign the striker. However, under agent Raiola, Balotelli’s worth has seen a rapid decline.
He had cost Manchester City €21.8 million when they bought him from Inter Milan. But after two unsuccessful seasons in Manchester, the player was sold to AC Milan for a fee rumoured to be around €20 million plus bonuses and add-ons. After an impressive spell at Milan, he joined Liverpool in the summer of 2014 for what many considered a bargain at £15m.
He was judged as one of the worst signings that season by various pundits having scored a solitary goal in 19 appearances for the club and hence was shipped back out to AC Milan. Back in Italy, he made just 20 appearances and only scored one goal which led to him being kept out of the Italian national team for Euro 2016. It could be said that even though Raiola has taken the forward to a big club like Liverpool, he has also played a part in destroying a promising career.
#2 Marek Hamsik
Marek Hamsik had joined Napoli in 2007, after having played for his native side Slovan Bratislava and Italian side Brescia. He has since made over 400 appearances for Napoli and has scored 98 goals for the club. The Slovak is an attacking midfielder and has been one of the top players at the club level. He is also managed by super agent Mino Raiola but there have been reports which have suggested that the agent has always wanted the player to leave Napoli.
Hamsik is Napoli’s captain currently and with the departure of Gonzalo Higuain, the club will be looking upto him to deliver for them. Hamsik’s leadership, creativity, skill, and eye for goal from midfield has seen him play a key role in helping the team in winning two Italian league titles.
But Raiola has wanted the player to go to a bigger club in Europe. Napoli’s President Aurelio De Laurentiis had once commented on Mino Raiola, "He's a pain in the backside, who, for years, has been trying to take Hamsik away." This came after several reports have emerged in the last six years that the agent has been trying to engineer a move away as soon as the transfer window opens.
As an agent, it is also your duty to get the right salaries for your players, and with all the transfer speculation, it may be that the agent has only been trying to get a hike in Hamsik’s salary at Napoli. However, even after huge interest from Premier League clubs like Arsenal and Chelsea, Hamsik has decided to stick with his club for nine years now.
#3 Romelu Lukaku
Romelu Lukaku is only 23 years old but has already proved himself in the Premier League. He won Anderlecht the Belgian League in 2009-10, being the league’s top scorer as scored a staggering 41 goals in 98 appearances for the Belgian club when he was only 18 years old.
Lukaku has since moved on to Chelsea and now Everton – and he might be going back to the London club again this transfer window.
The striker is also one of the high profile names who is managed by the super agent. Raiola has been trying to fix Lukaku’s future at a better club than Everton given the Belgian’s exploits for his national team at the recently concluded Euro 2016.
Raiola has been with the player since last year and has maybe motivated the player to move to a new level after having scored 61 goals in 127 appearances for the Merseysiders. Raiola has spoken about Lukaku’s future saying that the player wants to play for a bigger club but that Everton also have a new plan in place after the new ownership.
He was quoted as saying, “Everton don't need the money anymore but Romelu wants to play for a club that can win trophies. [However] something's changed at Everton. There's a new project. If he leaves, it has to be a good deal for all parties.”
New manager Ronald Koeman has also said he wants the striker to stay at the club. The agent has been doing a good job with the player, which might result in Lukaku playing for a bigger club, or Everton offering him an improved contract.
#4 Pavel Nedved
Pavel Nedved is a retired Czech footballer who used to play a midfielder. He is famous for his time with Lazio and Juventus in Italy, where he won the league and cup double with the former. He is considered as one of the best footballers of his generation and also regarded as one of the most successful players from the Czech Republic.
He was also a key member of the national side which reached the final of Euro 1996. The midfielder won the Ballon d’Or in 2003 after some amazing performances for Juventus. That is when he changed his agent from Zdenek Nehoa to the super agent in Mino Raiola. The latter’s influence on the player led to him staying at the Old Lady for the next six seasons. The agent has always been shrewd enough to know how his client can earn more money.
He did the same with Nedved when the agent would publicly come out and say that Manchester United and Chelsea were chasing his client. This tempted Juventus to offer the player a new improved contract thrice in his career. Nedved was one of the biggest names in the footballing world in the early 2000s, hence Raiola made the most of the scenario. The duo are still client and agent to each other even though the Czech had retired from football in 2009.
Nedved was appointed as the Vice President of Juventus last year and is currently busy with the transfer window.
#5 Blaise Matuidi
Blaise Matuidi is one of the top central midfielders in the game right now. He plays for Paris Saint-Germain at club level and has won 50 international caps for France. The 29-year-old had joined the Parisians in 2011 and has since made 237 appearances in his five seasons. But since last season, the midfielder has been linked with a host of Premier League clubs like Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool.
He is Paul Pogba’s international teammate, but another common thing about the two midfielders is their agent. The PSG man is also a client of super agent Mino Raiola. The latter has never been on the right foot with the Manchester club, but has been trying to engineer a move for Pogba to United. But it has been reported that if the moves fails it will be Matuidi who will be on his way to United.
The agent joined Matuidi in 2013 and has since helped him by benefitting from a four-year contract extention in 2014 which stated considerable hike in the player’s wages. The player, however, is said to be happy in Paris after winning four consecutive league titles.
