Jorge Mendes and Mino Raiola are two of the most powerful personalities in the world of football. The two super agents represent some of the biggest names in the world of football and have made millions as agent fees while representing clients as big as Cristiano Ronaldo, Jose Mourinho, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Paul Pogba. The two super agents represent many players. In fact, they represent enough players to make a team of XI with substitutes and a manager.
Mendes is a Portuguese and represents many famous stars from the country and the famous Portuguese manager, Jose Mourinho. Raiola on the other hand, represents many big stars but his clients are spread over many countries unlike the clients of Mendes. The two are known to be ruthless and very effective at what they do and hence it comes as no surprise that they represent so many superstars.
Jorge Mendes XI
David De Gea: The Manchester United keeper is arguably one of the best keepers in the world right now and finds a place in the starting XI ahead of compatriot and fellow Premier League keeper Victor Valdes.
Fabinho: The AS Monaco star is a versatile player capable of operating in midfield and as a right back. He played for Real Madrid Castilla before his move to Monaco. The Brazilian has been constantly linked with a move away from the French club to several top clubs across Europe.
Pepe: Pepe was among the best players in Europe last season and played a pivotal role in Portugal’s successful Euro campaign. In fact, Cristiano Ronaldo said that Pepe was the best player of Euro 2016.
Thiago Silva: A centre-back combination of Thiago Silva and Pepe is just mouth watering. The PSG captain’s ability to read the game and organise his defence is simply remarkable.
Fabio Coentrao: Fabio Coentrao is a player with immense talent, but his career has been marred by injury problems. However, his career prior to Real Madrid is enough to prove that Coentrao is a world class full back.
Andre Gomes: Andre Gomes was a highly sought after player during the summer transfer window of 2016 after his brilliant show for Portugal. Spanish giants Barcelona and Real Madrid wanted his signature and he moved to the former.
Renato Sanches: Yet another Portuguese player on this list. The highly talented central midfielder’s inclusion in the starting XI was a major reason behind Portugal’s Euro success. He won the Golden Boy award in 2016 for his brilliant performances for both club and country.
James Rodriguez: Although James Rodriguez has been demoted to the bench at Real Madrid, there is no reason to doubt his quality. The Golden Boot winner at the World Cup just needs to kickstart his career elsewhere.
Angel Di Maria: From being the Man of the Match in the 2014 Champions League final to being a flop at Manchester United and finally settling in at PSG, Di Maria’s career has taken a topsy-turvy ride in recent years. Mendes has ensured that Di Maria only moves to a top club and thus he became the most expensive Premier League signing in 2014.
Cristiano Ronaldo (Captain): This man needs no introduction as he has dominated the footballing world along with a certain Leo Messi for years. Ronaldo has a goals to games ratio of over 1 with Real Madrid and that's simply remarkable!
Diego Costa: Diego Costa is mostly remembered by people for being a figure of controversy, but he is simply one of the best strikers in the world right now. The Spaniard's goalscoring record for Chelsea reads 43 goals in just 68 Premier League!
Bench: Victor Valdes, Nicolas Otamendi, Joao Moutinho, William Carvalho, Radamel Falcao, Nani, Ricardo Quaresma
Manager: Jose Mourinho
Mino Raiola XI
Gianluigi Donnarumma: AC Milan currently have many promising youngsters in their ranks but their most highly rated player is the teenage goalkeeper Donnarumma. The youngster is the club’s first choice keeper and also likely to be the future first choice keeper for Italy.
Gregory van der Weil: The former PSG full-back now plays for Turkish giants Fenerbahce. The Dutchman is a pacey player who loves to join the attack. He also has 46 caps for Netherlands.
Bartosz Salamon: Salamon is not as famous as most players on this list but he is one of the very few centre-backs Raiola represents. The Polish defender plays for Serie A club Cagliari.
Rodrigo Ely: When you go through this list, you will realise that Raiola represents a lot of Serie A players especially from AC Milan and Ely is one of them. The 23-year-old Brazilian has been at Milan for a while but has never been able to cement a starting role.
Maxwell: One more client of Raiola who has played in Serie A. Maxwell has won numerous trophies during his career while playing for esteemed clubs like Ajax, Inter Milan, Barcelona and PSG.
Paul Pogba: The much talked about transfer of Paul Pogba to Manchester United ended with Raiola pocketing a lot of money from the deal. It comes as no surprise as Pogba is now the most expensive player in the world!
Blaise Matuidi: Three of Raiola’s clients signed for Manchester United during the summer transfer window of 2016 and a fourth, Blaise Matuidi, was also linked with a move to Old Trafford. The French midfielder is one of the best box to box midfielders in the world and a crucial player for both club and country.
Marek Hamsik: The Slovakian international has been a coveted player for many top clubs in recent years, but Hamsik has stuck by Napoli through thick and thin. He is the club’s captain and has been one of their best players for many seasons now.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan: The Manchester United star rose to fame with Shakhtar Donetsk before moving to Borussia Dortmund. In his final season with Dortmund, the Armenian was named the Bundesliga Player of the Year.
Romelu Lukaku: Everton’s main man is one of the many high-profile strikers managed by Mino Raiola. The Belgian moved to Chelsea for a big transfer fee in 2011 before moving to Everton permanently in 2014 for a club record £28 million.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Captain): Mino Raiola’s crown jewel – Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Raiola has overseen every single big move of Zlatan’s starting with his move from Ajax to Juventus in 2004 and now from PSG to Manchester United. Considering the collective fee paid for Zlatan over the years, Raiola would have pocketed a lot of money!
Bench: Sergio Romero, Ignazio Abate, Giacomo Bonaventura, Mario Balotelli, Etienne Capoue, Robinho, Kenny Tete
Manager: Martin Jol
Note: Former superstars like Frank Rijkaard, Dennis Bergkamp and Pavel Nedved were also clients of Mino Raiola!
