Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain among clubs to pay tribute to agent Mino Raiola
REAL Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain were among the clubs to pay tribute to Mino Raiola following the agent’s death.
Raiola, whose list of clients included Paul Pogba, latan Ibrahimovic, Erling Haaland and Gianluigi Donnarumma, was confirmed to have died on Saturday at the age of 54.
He had been in a critical condition at a Milan hospital.
Madrid tweeted: “Real Madrid C.F., itspresident and its board of directors deeply lament the passing of Mino Raiola and wish to express their condolences and affection to his family and loved ones.” PSG, who signed Donnarumma from Milan last year, tweeted: “Mino Raiola, charismatic sports agent, passed away today following an illness. The club, through its president, sends its condolences to his family and loved ones.”
Serie A leaders Milan sent “our deepest condolences to the Raiola family and all the friends of Mino for their tragic loss,” while Inter also expressed their condolences.
Born in Italy, Raiola grew up in the Netherlands and first stepped into the world of football agency by working on the deal which took Dutch forward Bryan Roy to Italian club Foggia and then acted as an interpreter in Dennis Bergkamp’s move from Ajax to Inter Milan.
Czech star Pavel Nedved became Raiola’s first big-name client, and he steadily built his reputation in Italian and world football over the years since, and alongside Jorge Mendes was arguably the highest-profile football agent on the planet.
Raiola’s often outspoken approach had, though, not always endeared him to club managers - with former Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer unhappy at what he saw as the Italian stirring up trouble over Pogba’s future.