The worlds most influential agent has unorthodox advice for Haaland, Pogba and the others
Reading Time: 7min | Sat. 01.05.21. | 17:10
Mino Raiola is one of a kind. From a pizza master to the heights of the football pyramid. And he has learnt a couple of things about women on the way
In recent years, the Italian Mino Raiola has established himself as the most potent agent in the world of football and took over the throne from Georges Mendes. Just look at the list of clients represented by a controversial agent: Erling Braut Haaland, Paul Pogba, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Marco Verati, Gianluigi Donaruma, Matthias de Licht, Stefan de Fry, Moses Ken, Henrik Mkhitaryan, Costas Manolas, Alessio Romagnoli, Irving Lozano, almost all the most incredible talents of Dutch football too...
Raiola, the former pizza master, has built an image of an unscrupulous manager that clubs, coaches and fans don’t like, but players adore him and race to get on his client list. They know that he will provide them with the biggest transfers and salaries.
In a long interview for the Spanish newspaper AS, he talked about many interesting things regarding his most prominent players, and himself.
Mino Raiola (©VI Images via Getty Images)- A GOOD WOMAN IS ESSENTIAL -
How did you discover Haaland?
I saw him for the first time on the TV, in a Molde game. I don't fall in love at first sight very often, but when I see a player and I like them, I say: "He's the one".
What's Haaland really like?
Like all the greats, for him, it's football first, then everything else. Cristiano, Ibrahimovic… They all made football the centre of their lives. Haaland doesn't know what restaurants there are in Dortmund. He studies hard to get better; he trains hard. The great champions, in my opinion, are the most straightforward people. And it's essential to have a good woman by your side. It's key to create your inner circle.
You surprised everyone with your tour of Madrid and Barcelona with Haaland's father?
If I tell you the reason for the trip, you won't believe it. Haaland's dad had to go to Marbella. He wanted to travel, and I did too because I congratulated Laporta and then went to Madrid. We did it all in one go. Because, look, 99% of the times when I'm travelling, nobody knows where I am.
Well, it seemed like a marketing tour?
What's weird is there's no private terminal in Barcelona. There's paparazzi there 24 hours a day. I think they were waiting for an actress. It wasn't a sports paparazzi. But look, I also don't have anything to hide, I talk a lot with the directors of Barca and Real.
Has Haaland told you where he wants to play?
No, because I'm not interested in him telling me at the moment. He needs to tell me when everything is clear in my head, and I can create a menu for him and put the things on his plate: we've got this, that and the other... And at the moment, we can't. What we know as of today is that Dortmund spoke extremely solemnly to us and said: "We are not selling him". That's the situation, definitely.
Haaland with his teammates at BVB (©Friedemann Vogel - Pool/Getty Images)- ERLING WANTS TWO THINGS -
They don't want to sell him this summer?
That's what they've said. Now let's see if that desire is still there through to the 1st of September. Staying is a risk. Leaving is too. Look, in this agency of mine, there are some rules that are like the rules in a law firm. If a footballer trusts me, he also trusts that everything that happens in his life goes with me to the grave. If he wants to talk about it, he's free to do so. I can't, and I don't want to. Because, among other things, it's not important.
Haaland is interested in two things. Scoring goals because he's a little bit like Cristiano or Zlatan… it's his obsession, in a positive way. And winning titles. No doubt he'll pick somewhere where he feels those two things go together best for him. It's really hard to lie. When a club like Barcelona or Real Madrid comes in for you, with so much history and being such a big club, it's hard to say no. PSG is getting into his group of big clubs, City is trying, Juve have always been there. The league they play in is important too. PSG plays in the worst league of the big clubs. Bayern are in an attractive league, but we know they always win it. In Spain there are three clubs with a chance...
Can Madrid afford Haaland?
I don't know if they can afford him, because I've haven't studied their books. But I think they can. I think they all can. The question is different: Can Madrid afford not to buy Haaland? And Barca?
What teams have called him?
All 14 big clubs want him, yes. Now it's important to know which is the best option.
Will Haaland go where they pay him the most money?
No, no... my job is to maximise the economic performance of the player, but it needs to be a major project. You can't buy a footballer without having a plan or a project for the future. Real Madrid and Barcelona have changed a lot in this sense. They had an era when they bought players who had little future. They had to leave soon after. The rotation of players was too quick.
(©Matthew Ashton - AMA/Getty Images)- POGBA WOULD LIKE TO WORK WITH ZIDANE -
After Haaland, is Pogba one of Raiola's main concerns for this transfer window?
When a player asks you, what are we going to do? It's an enormous responsibility. That's when you stay up all night thinking about what's best... My aim is to make it a process alongside the player to see what they really have in their heart. Ibrahimovic knew I was against him going to Barca. He wanted to go because it was an incredible Barcelona side. And although people might think differently, I believe that [this failed move] was really important, not a major disaster, because he learnt so much more in six months than in significant stretches of his life.
With Pogba, what's really important is what Manchester United want, what project they are proposing for Pogba. Pogba has always been interested in one thing, winning the Champions League titles. That's his objective. And we'll see if that's possible at United or at other big European clubs.
Why is Pogba not already at Real Madrid?
.jpg)
It's a question for Madrid. At one time, Pogba felt a lot of love for, and trust in, United, and there are various other clubs... Afterwards, it's really hard for United and Madrid to reach an understanding on a massive transfer because big clubs don't like selling great players to other big clubs. And I'm not going to kid you, for Pogba, playing at Madrid was always a desirable option, because of Zidane too. He's Pogba's childhood hero.
You've been in this business for 30 years, how's your job changed?
In my own case, I think I play a big part in the Calciomercato (transfer market), because of the things I say about players, the things I do. In America, the Calciomercato is called the Draft, and it's the most important part of the game, it's a show. If you only talk about football, that's only Sundays, when there's a game. And if you took the Calciomercato out of the football industry, you'd be taking out 60% of what's important, and you'd be left just with the game.
Kylian Mbappe (©Alex Grimm/Getty Images)- A ROLLS ROYCE WITHOUT A CHAUFFEUR -
What do you think about players like Mbappe, who don't have an agent?
They end up having one in a different way because there's a big group of people behind them. I can't say whether it's bad or good. I don't know if he'd be better or worse if he were with me, what I do know is that whoever is with me is really happy. That's what makes me happy. I think a father who isn't adequately prepared shouldn't be in this business. Think about how the best doctors don't operate on their own children. There's a reason - you need distance, professional distance. One of my kids was a really good player, but they didn't want to be a professional. And if they had been, I wouldn't have been their agent.
What about the influence of the agents?
The job of an agent is to defend to the maximum the interests of the players. And the job of the sporting directors is to defend the interests of the clubs. It's like buying a Rolls Royce and not paying for a chauffeur. Or buying a plane and not hiring a pilot. It's complete madness. We're also part of football. Of course, I've never gone to a negotiation with a gun on the table. If we exist, it's because the players need the clubs and us too.
