Deutsche Welle (English edition)
Top football agent Mino Raiola 'very, very ill' — reports
The Italian-Dutch "superagent" Mino Raiola is seriously ill in hospital, according to reports. An influential yet controversial figure, Raiola counts Erling Haaland, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Paul Pogba among his clients.
Influential football agent Mino Raiola is reportedly gravely ill in hospital, but still alive, despite several claims to the contrary.
"Mino is in an extremely critical condition," his doctor reportedly told Tancredi Palmeri, an Italian journalist with beIN Sports. "He is fighting."
Palmeri had earlier tweeted that the 54-year-old had died, before deleting the tweet and apologizing, saying he was "mortified" at his error.
Amid conflicting reports, Raiola's own Twitter account posted for clarity: "Current health status for the ones wondering: p***** off second time in 4 months they kill me. Seem also able to resuscitate."
Raiola was in hospital in January, with German tabloid Bildreporting that he was undergoing treatment for a lung disease, but his spokesman played down any concerns at the time, saying: "Mino Raiola is undergoing usual medical examinations that require anesthesia. Everything was planned, and there was no emergency surgery."
Four months later, Tariq Panja, of TheNew York Times, added that he had been told by a "close friend" of Raiola's that the Italian-Dutch agent is "very, very ill" — but also denied the earlier report that he had died.
Dutch outlet NOSwas also told by Jose Fortes Rodriguez, said to be "the right-hand man of the agent," that Raiola has "not died" but is "in a bad position."
Superagent to Pogba, Haaland, Ibrahimovic, etc.
The Italian superagent counts star players such as Zlatan Ibrahimovic (AC Milan), Paul Pogba (Manchester United), Matthijs de Ligt (Juventus) and Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris SaintGermain) among his clients, as well as Borussia Dortmund strikers Erling Haaland and Donyell Malen.
Born in Italy but raised in the Netherlands, Raiola speaks seven languages (Italian, English, German, Spanish, French, Portuguese and Dutch) and in 2016 was responsible for securing Pogba's then-record transfer from Juventus back to Manchester United for €105 million — a deal for which he reportedly pocketed a €25 million commission.
Raiola has most recently been involved in negotiating a potential transfer of Dortmund's Haaland to Manchester City, with reports in England suggesting that the 21-year-old could be set to agree a five-year deal with the Abu Dhabi-owned club.
A larger- than- life figure, Raiola is no stranger to scandal. In 2008, he was involved in disciplinary hearings instigated by the Italian Football Association (FIGC) regarding transfer irregularities, before being banned from transfer activities for three months in 2019 by the FIGC and then FIFA — bans that were revoked upon appeal.
Ferguson: 'I distrusted him from the moment I met him.'
Never afraid to represent his players' — and his own — interests publicly, Raiola prompts loyalty and contempt in equal measure from people within the industry.
"I'm ready to go to war for my players. I am ready to do anything, as I would for my sons," he told German outlet Sport1last year.
"The sporting directors hate me? How come? If they hate me, then it's the biggest compliment for me. Then I'm doing something well. If they said 'it's good that the Raiola advises the player, it'll be easy for us,' then I'd have a problem."
Among Raiola's biggest critics is former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, who famously called him a "s***bag" for his representation of Pogba.
"There are one or two football agents I simply do not like, and Mino Raiola is one of them," Ferguson wrote in his 2015 autobiography. "I distrusted him from the moment I met him."