Football Agent Mino Raiola Has Died, After Battle With Illness

Football agent Mino Raiola has died at the age of 54, it has been confirmed.

Raiola had been suffering from an illness after being rushed into hospital in Milan back in January.

Outlet Tg La 7 had incorrectly reported he had died on Thursday afternoon but in response, Jose Fortes Rodriguez, Raiola's right-hand man, revealed he had not passed but was in a "bad position".

However on Saturday afternoon, a lengthy post from Raiola's Twitter account announced his death and said he had "fought until the end".

A statement read: "In infinite sorrow, we share the passing of the most caring and amazing football agent that ever was.

"Mino fought until the end with the same strength he put on negotiation tables to defend our players. As usual, Mino made us proud and never realised it.

"Mino touched so many lives through his work and wrote a new chapter in the history of modern football. His presence will forever be missed.

"Mino's mission of making football a better place for players will continue with the same passion."

Raiola represented high-profile players like Paul Pogba, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Mario Balotelli and Erling Haaland and was one of the most well-known agents in world football.

He was born in Nocera Inferiore in Salerno, not far from Naples, but moved with his family to Haarlem in Holland when he was just one.

His parents opened up a pizzeria which he worked at, before getting involved in property and selling a local McDonald's restaurant.

A millionaire before he was 20, Raiola soon found working within football as his true calling and helped engineer Pavel Nedved's £12 million switch from Sparta Prague to Lazio in 1996.

The Dutch-Italian became known as a "super agent" after orchestrating some of the biggest deals in football.

He is said to to have made £24 million from Pogba's £89 million return to Manchester United in 2016.

In 2020, Forbes claimed Raiola had a net worth of £61.96 million.