Dr Alberto Zangrillo, of San Raffaele Hospital in Milan, told the Ansa news agency on Thursday that Raiola was “struggling to survive”. He himself spoke after multiple reports that Raiola had died, which led to a post on his official Twitter account that he was still alive. However, on Saturday afternoon, a family statement on the account confirmed Raiola’s death, although no timeline or cause of death was given. “We share with immense grief the death of the most cared for and amazing football player that has ever existed,” he wrote. “Mino fought to the end with the same force he put on the negotiating table to defend our players. As usual, Mino made us proud and he never understood. “Mino touched so many lives through his work and wrote a new chapter in the history of modern football. His presence will be missing forever. “Mino’s mission to make football a better place for players will continue with the same passion.” The Italian-born Dutchman was one of football’s most powerful and lucrative agents after nearly three decades at work. His other clients include Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Matthijs de Ligt and Mario Balotelli. Mino Raiola with client Mario Balotelli in 2013. Photo: Olycom SPA / Rex / Shutterstock Pogba and Haland are expected to make two of the most important transfers of the summer, with Pogba available for free when his contract with Manchester United expires and Haaland ready to leave Borussia Dortmund. Manchester City intend to sign the Norwegian striker. Raiola, who spoke Italian, Dutch, English, French, German, Spanish and Portuguese, was born in Italy but moved to the Dutch city of Haarlem with his family as a baby and worked there in the family pizzeria as a boy. Terrible news. Football agent Mino Raiola died of an illness, he had been ill for months, he was 54 years old. Raiola was the agent of many football stars such as Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Paul Pogba, Erling Haland, Pavel Nedved and many others. 🙏🏻🕊 – Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) April 30, 2022 Raiola later took care of the restaurant’s books, studied law and became the manager of the local football team. He wanted to become a football agent, however, and his break came when Rob Jansen, one of the leading players in the Netherlands, asked him to help translate Dennis Bergkamp from Ajax to Internacional in 1993. in Jansen’s company but left to create on his own. He oversees the transfer of the then Πο 93.2 million Pogba’s world record to United from Juventus in 2016. His honest nature was demonstrated in 2020 when he criticized then-United coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer for the transfer. Raiola said he considered Pogba not as a customer but as a family. Raiola had previously clashed with Sir Alex Ferguson and said in an interview with one of Ibrahimovic’s autobiographies that he had found a kinship with the Swede: “I immediately realized he was an arrogant bastard – in other words, just like me.” Raiola strongly criticized FIFA’s proposals to limit the money that agents could make from the transfers.
