He was, along with Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Erling Haaland, one of the biggest names in super-agent Mino Raiola’s “star portfolio”. French international Paul Pogba paid tribute on Sunday evening on his social networks to his lifelong agent, who died on Saturday April 30. Raiola accompanied Pogba since his early years at Juventus and had notably negotiated his giant transfer to Manchester United for him in 2016. “Forever in my heart, thank you Mimi”, posted on Twitter and Instagram Pogba, accompanied by a short slideshow of photos where the two men are together.
Since the announcement of Raiola’s death, many actors in the world of football have paid tribute to this great figure in the world of the transfer window, known for his outspokenness and his tenacity in negotiations. Erling Haaland tweeted an emotional photo with him, simply accompanied by the caption “The Best” (the best).
Will Enzo Raiola take over?
Adored by his players, to whom he was very close, the Italian agent died of cancer on Saturday after a long fight. With him since the first hour, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who had come to his bedside during the week, did not publicly express his emotion.
At the end of his contract with Manchester United, Paul Pogba will be at the heart of many negotiations between now and the summer to sign a new contract. If many agents would like to “recover” the player in their fold, it is unlikely that the midfielder will leave the “Raiola” fold. The agent’s cousin, Enzo Raiola, also registered as a player representative with Fifa, should indeed take over.
“They have been in the Raiola stable for a long time. I have no doubt that they will remain there for several more years. Raiola had an important quality: he knew how to be close to his players, a French manager told us about the future of the stars managed by Raiola. His death will not change much for the stars, more for the others who also profited from his fame.