The summer transfer window has not yet opened, but the "man" who is most likely to affect the comings and goings of European giants has fallen ahead of time.
On the evening of April 30, Beijing time, the famous agent Mino Rayola died of illness at the age of 54.
The big money broker with haaland, Pogba, Donnarumma and other superstars has continued to set new commission records in the past few years while creating a series of amazing transactions. His death has brought great uncertainty to the movements of many of his players.
Will Haaland join Manchester City as he wishes? Who are pogba's new family members who have officially announced their departure? These personnel arrangements, which were supposed to be top secrets in Laiola, are likely to be in flux these days. And the death of the Italian, who was seeking the ultimate benefit for his clients, also meant the end of an era.
The scruffy-looking Laiola can stir up trouble in the transfer market.
Before his death, he was "obituary" twice.
Since the beginning of this year, Laiola's physical condition has been poor. In January, the Italian was secretly hospitalized and underwent surgery, without disclosing the specific condition of the lungs. After negotiating with a number of giants on Haaland's transfer, in April, Raiola was again admitted to the San Rafael Hospital in Milan. This time, the situation is far more serious than before.
At the end of April, a number of media reported that Raiola had died, and even Real Madrid made a fuss, posting condolences to Raiola in social media. But then a number of sports journalists refute the rumors, and finally Raiola personally went down to "punch in the face": "Report my physical condition to those who want to know: I was killed by them for the second time in 4 months, very angry, and seemed to be able to rescue." ”
This is a fairly rare move for Italians who have posted no more than 50 stories after registering for social media. Alberto Zanrilo, a doctor at San Rafael's Hospital, added: "I'm outraged by the fake reporter calling to speculate about the life of a man who is fighting for survival. "
Unfortunately, Rayola, whose life is on the brink, has not been able to exert her strength at the negotiating table in front of death. On the evening of the 30th, the Laiola family issued a sentimental statement: "The death of the most loving and amazing football agent ever. Like he paid for the players at the negotiating table, Mino fought to the end. ”
Raiola has always been a focal point in the transfer market.
After the news was confirmed, a number of players and clubs issued condolences one after another. Among them are both Haaland, Pogba and other Raiola stars, as well as those clubs that have been very close to him in the past, but also full of contradictions, such as Real Madrid, Inter and Manchester United.
Those who loved him and those who hated him both gave up their original positions at this moment. Perhaps the most gratifying thing for Raiola is that Ibrahimovic, who has worked with him for more than 20 years, voluntarily gave up training at the end of his life and accompanied his brother and friend's agent in the hospital.
Another little-known episode came from Sabatini, the sports director of Salenitana who had worked with and had a dispute with La'iola, and during his tenure in Sampdoria, Sabatini had difficulty breathing due to long-term smoking, and Laiola voluntarily paid for his treatment in the United States.
"You're not going to give me the opportunity to say that in life, you're just going to cause controversy as usual." It's an extraordinary act of generosity that you don't need to do at all, but you do it silently. Thank you, Mino. ”
It is regrettable that Laiola's good deeds saved the lives of her work partners, but she could not save herself.
Laiola's physical condition has been poor this year.
Controversial Life: No allies, only interests
Although born in Salerno, Italy, Laiola began her life in the Netherlands.
After moving to the LowLands with his family at the age of 1, Rayola immediately showed a talent for business in a country with a strong business tradition.
While working at her own pizza chain, Laiola made a net profit of $200,000 by reselling a local McDonald's restaurant and began her journey to wealth freedom at a young age.
In 1992, Rayola, who founded the "Intermezzo" agency, officially entered the world of football. His masterpiece was to help dutch international Brian Roy, one of the new three musketeers, transfer from Ajax to Foggia, a deal that Raiola personally handled for 7 months.
The rigorous attitude won the trust of Roy's teammate Bergkamp, and in the same year, the Dutch forward transferred to Inter Milan for a sky-high price of $7.5 million, and it was Raiola who had not yet been blessed to raise the blue and black shirt.
Raiola is better known for his full representation of Ibrahimovic's brokerage matters this century. The two met for the first time at the sushi restaurant at the Kula Hotel in Amsterdam, and Rayola was very dismissive of a brand-name Swede: "The watch is good, but you only scored 6 goals last season, you don't deserve it." ”
Ibrahimovic and Raiola were important figures in each other's careers.
Ibrahimovic had a bad impression of the T-shirt shorts and the big belly of Raiola, but he was impressed by his bluntness and sensitivity: "This scruffy fat man, who eats and devours, is like a member of the underworld family." ”
Subsequently, Ibrahimovic decided to let Raiola take care of everything for himself, even when he transferred to Juventus, the Swede still nestled in the hotel to play PS, and it was still the fat man who talked and laughed with the Agnelli family and Moggi.
In fact, just 2 years ago, Juventus had learned the power of this cutting-edge agent. When negotiating Nedved's transfer, Raiola insisted that the Czech's annual salary was no less than zidane, who had just moved to Real Madrid, which greatly touched the "iron man": "I signed a blank contract, then went home and waited for him to tell me where I would go next season." In the end, Juve agreed to Raiola's request in its entirety.
However, how sweet the honeymoon is, how decisive the breakup is: after the "phone door", Raiola, who was originally regarded by Juve as "his own person", immediately instigated Ibrahimovic's transfer, to the Bianconeri's sworn enemy Inter Milan. The Nerazzurri did not steal long, 3 years later, Ibrahimovic went to Barca, and the potential stock of the team, Balotelli, also joined Manchester City at the "instigation" of Raiola.
More well-known to fans is the love-hate relationship between Ferguson and Raiola, in Pogba's "homecoming" one-out and one-in, the Italian made sir very dismissive: "Pogba? He had a pretty bad agent. He (Raiola) is a shitbag. ”
Raiola and Balotelli are also working together.
Professional Iron Law: Seek the most profit for players
But it was sir, a small person who did not look up, who facilitated the return of the French midfielder to the Theater of Dreams, and got the most expensive commission in his life: of the 89 million pounds of transfer fees, Raiola shared 20 million pounds.
La Raiola is not alone in Manchester United: in the summer of 2019, after hanging barca's appetite for more than a year, Raiola finally decided to have her new client De Ligt join Juventus, and although Barca also offered a transfer fee of 80 million euros, Juve promised a higher contract for the player, as well as a more substantial share.
Enraged, Bartomeu immediately announced that he would never negotiate business with any of Raiola's players on any given day.
Another person who "loved and hurt" with Raiola was AC Milan, and when Berlusconi's team was in a financial trough, Raiola joined the free agent and potential rookie to help Milan through a difficult period.
But last season, the team just returned to the Champions League, and Donnarumma, who signed a big contract at the instigation of Raiola, still went to Paris Saint-Germain for better treatment.
On the surface, every deal that Raiola pushes forward is driven by profits from a percentage. Unlike most agents, however, Laiola is not a sounding board for buyers and sellers, but more like a planner for her career. Comprehensively considering the suitability, positioning and appearance time of customers in the new owner, whether they can complete the magnitude jump is an indicator that Laiola values more.
Laiola's death has left the transfer market with many questions.
As Van den Wilder, a Dutch football journalist familiar with "Pull fat man", said: "Despite all the money he makes, he still has enough motivation to do his best for his players." ”
"Many agents are afraid to fight for their players when negotiating with the team, for the simple reason that they are afraid that they will fall out of favor with the team and will not be able to continue to do business with the team in the future. But Laiola doesn't care, he always puts his players first. ”
Where do big customers go in the future?
In nearly 30 years as an agent, Rayola completed roughly $847.7 million in player deals, and his earnings exceeded $80 million on a conservative 10 percent commission basis.
Unfortunately, Rayola, who has great hopes of surpassing hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue, has failed to complete this ultimate goal ahead of schedule in the past three years due to the covid-19 epidemic and many transactions stranded.
With the death of Laiola, the transactions of many of her stars have also fallen into a mystery.
Three years ago, Raiola had two transfer windows run at her own pace: Ibrahimovic (total transfer fee €169 million), Mkhitaryan (total transfer €112 million), De Ligt (85.5 million, 2019) and Balotelli (€70 million), all of which dominated the headlines. Now, as the new head of Rayola, Haaland only needs a commission to pay a huge amount of 70 million euros to the new owner.
Haaland is currently the top star of the Raiola family.
Prior to this, the 50 million euros at the time of the first round of quotations had scared away Barca, which was in a poor financial situation; but with Raiola's illness, Manchester City, which had been closest to the Norwegian center, also temporarily withdrew the offer and waited for the situation to develop. After all, although the Raiola team is still there, the successor may not have the courage and means of the founder.
This also means that the once-clear direction of the Haaland dispute will return to the situation of competing for the deer, whether it is Bayern, Paris and Real Madrid, which were eager to try, and even Barca, which can only draw cakes to fill the hunger, have the opportunity to become the new owner of "Buou".
Another variable may be Pogba's unilateral announcement of his departure after the early season reimbursement in April. He has only 1 year left on his contract, and the transfer fee is not an obstacle, but there are not many people who can meet the treatment of the French and endure their loose style.
The La Liga duo, who had previously chased the Frenchman, had faded in enthusiasm in recent years, and whether Paris Saint-Germain would take over had become unclear after Raiola's death.
Pogba's future is still uncertain.
In addition, Ajax double stars Gerafenberg and Mazlavi have also been coveted by the giants for many days, and Rayola's previous plan is for the two to join Bayern together, but Mazlavi himself is more interested in Barca. De Ligt, who is the "front wave" of the two, will leave Juve this summer according to Raiola's original plan, but now, the Dutchman is more likely to renew his contract.
No matter who the customers end up spending, Rayola has nothing to do with it. The last glimpse of this maverick fat man may be the one he and Ibrahimovic pose: the "tower" bird in the photo leans on Laiola's shoulder, and the latter puts his middle finger on the camera.
Even if he has been scolded as a vampire, a troublemaker, or a megalomaniac, the fact that no one can avoid is that Raiola is the one who changed the transfer market. (Supine Braces/Yang Jian)
The first surging news