“Mino fought to the end, with the same strength with which he defended his players at the negotiating table. As always, he made us proud without realizing it,” the Raiola family said in a statement.
“He has meant something to so many people and opened a new chapter in modern football. He will be missed forever. His mission – to improve the football world for the players – will continue.”
“As always, he made us proud, without realizing it”
Earlier this week it was announced that Raiola had been hospitalized, where he was fighting for his life. It has been known for some time that the agent is seriously ill. In January, he underwent another medical procedure.
Raiola was born in 1967 in Nocera Inferiore, Italy, and moved to Haarlem with his parents at the age of 1. There he worked for years in the family business, a pizzeria, before studying law and eventually ending up in football.
He started his career as an agent at Sport Promotions, the company of football broker Rob Jansen. After working for Jansen for a while, Raiola decided to start working for himself.
Influential Agent
Raiola became one of the most influential agents in the world. He has represented top footballers Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Paul Pogba and Erling Haaland, among others, as well as Dutch internationals Matthijs de Ligt, Denzel Dumfries, Donyell Malen, Ryan Gravenberch and Owen Wijndal.
Raiola’s first major transfer was that of Pavel Nedved from Sparta Prague to Lazio in 1996. In the 26 years that followed Raiola was involved in the biggest transfers. He transferred Ibrahimovic from Ajax to Juventus in 2004 and still assisted the Swede until the very end. Just like Mario Balotelli, Marco Verratti, Gianluigi Donnarumma and Moise Kean.