Football adviser Mino Raiola is dead. His family wrote a post on his social media account on Saturday. Raiola was only 54 years old and was already in critical condition.
International football has lost what is arguably its most prominent player agent: Mino Raiola has passed away at the age of 54, his family confirmed in a statement on Raiola’s verified Twitter account on Saturday.
“It is with infinite sadness that we bid farewell to the most amazing football agent ever,” the statement said. “Mino fought to the end with the same vigor he defended our players at the negotiating table.”
Raiola, who represented stars such as Borussia Dortmund’s striker Erling Haaland, was recently seriously ill and had to undergo emergency surgery in Milan earlier this year. In addition to Haaland, Raiola also looked after other world stars such as Paul Pogba (Manchester United) or Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris St. Germain).
Last Thursday, false reports about the Italian’s death caused an international stir, the doctor treating him and Raiola’s agency firmly rejected them.
It all started in a pizzeria on the outskirts of Amsterdam
In Italy, Spain, Germany, England, Scandinavia and other parts of the world there was a lot of excitement, it wasn’t just about any player agent. Raiola was probably the most controversial, but almost certainly the most successful of his profession.
It all started in a pizzeria on the outskirts of Amsterdam. Her parents emigrated to the Netherlands from southern Italy in 1968 when Raiola was just one year old. They then ran a restaurant in Haarlem, and the son helped out, cleaning, washing dishes and bringing the food.
Much later, Raiola, the player agent, was also known as “il pizzaiolo”, the pizza maker. According to his own statement, he never stood at the stove himself.