The football fraternity is in a state of mourning after it was announced that top football agent, Mio Raiola is dead. The Italian agent was in charge of the likes of Manchester United’s Paul Pogba, Borussia Dortmund star Erling Haaland and the legendary Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Mino Raiola died at age 54.
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Who was Mino Raiola?
Mino Raiola was born in Nocera Inferiore in Salerno, Nales. At the age of one, Raiola and his family moved to Haarlem in Holland where he grew up. They opened a pizzeria called Napoli and this soon expanded to 11 restaurants. But at 19, he set out to make his own fortune.
He instantly became a millionaire before he turned 20 after he bought and sold a local McDonalds to a property developer.
Cause of death
According to German outlet Bild, Raiola had been suffering a lung condition before his death, .
How did he get into football?
Raiola briefly played for FC Haarlem; but after dropping out of a law degree, he became the technical director of the club. At 25, his career took another turn as he joined Sport-Promotion. They handled deals for footballers including Arsenal star Dennis Bergkamp.
How did he get noticed as an agent?
In 1996, Mino Raiola oversaw a move for Pavel Nedved. The Czech player moved from Sparta Prague to Lazio for £12million. Paul Nedved once again moved in 2001 to Juventus in a £25million deal.
Who else does he represent?
Two years after Nedved’s moved to Juventus, Raiola landed one of his biggest clients – Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Despite Ibrahimovic not initially warming to Raiola, he has stayed with the Italian agent ever since.
Raiola has over 20 players playing in top European leagues on his books. He was involved in the swap deal which saw Mkhitaryan move from Manchester United to Arsenal during the January transfer window and Alexis Sanchez’s move north to the Red Devils.
Other names on Raiola’s books included Mario Balotelli, Paul Pogba and Gianluigi Donnarumma.
How long has he represented Pogba?
In August 2016, he closed the world record transfer which saw Pogba move to Manchester United. After reportedly making €25 million from the transfer, he bought a house in Miami which used to belong to Al Capone.
Mino Raiola’s wife?
Mino Raiola is a married man; however, the identity of his wife is not known for now. However, apart from the information that he met his wife in Foggia, Italy, not much has been mentioned about her publicly.
Her name and background are unknown in the press.
Mino Raiola children
Bacause Mino Raiola kept his personal life private, it is unknown if he has children. He kept this kind of information out of the public eye. Mino is known to only comment on his professional life and football.
What is Mino Raiola’s net worth?
Mino has an estimated net worth of a whopping $700M (£563M) as an Italian football agent. He made the vast majority of this income from his sports company where he manages a number of professional players and athletes.
May his gentle soul Rest in Peace.