Giant Italian Football Agent Mino Raiola passes after a short illness.
Raiola was in hospital in January, with German tabloid Bild reporting 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.
The 54-year-old Raiola represented star players including Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Paul Pogba. Mino Raiola, one of football’s most powerful agents whose high-profile clients included Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Paul Pogba and Erling Haaland, was among the most high-profile agents in football, with his involvement in lucrative transfers making him as famous as his clients.
In the summer of 1996, Raiola helped take Zeman’s compatriot Pavel Nedved from Sparta Prague to his Lazio side. Nedved would go on to join Juventus and win the Ballon d’Or in 2003, cementing Raiola’s status as a super-agent. By then, his time as Jansen’s translator was over.
