After two more days of negotiations with Death, Laiola left this world. The chubby Italian started as a helper in his own restaurant and became an important brokerage giant in world football step by step. When his life came to an end, he was left with all kinds of legendary stories, countless but never used money, and more controversy.
Public opinion often judges Laiola as "the angel of the player + the devil of the team", but behind the seemingly two-sided life is the result of his professional identity to the extreme - an agent who always seeks the best interests for himself and his players.
Guest author | Yu Ze
Well-known football author, representative works "Premier League" and "La Liga"
01
Born broker
Born in salerno, a small southern town of 100,000 people in southern Italy, Mino-Raiola moved to the Netherlands with her parents at the age of 1. In Haarlem, famous for its tulips, his father opened a pizzeria with his ancestral talent in Italy, and the young Laiola was a streeter who did nothing.
He entered the academy of local club HFC Haarlem and is said to have played midfield to wear the no. 10, dreaming of joining Real Madrid. But he later recalled that there was a little problem with this life plan: "Real Madrid didn't want me at all."
Of course, in fact, it is not only Real Madrid that does not want him, but there is no team that wants him at all. The dream of a professional player is premature.
He was also admitted to the law school of a local university, dreamed of becoming a lawyer, and studied for two years. But he later recalled that something was wrong: "I suddenly understood that lawyers could spend money on hire and waste time learning what to do?"
Since then, the Netherlands has lost a lawyer with a full mouth, and the world football has one more agent with a mouth.
Of course, Laiola wasn't a broker at the time, just a dishwasher and waiter in his father's pizzeria. The original purpose was very simple, one was to get closer and worse with his father, and the other was to find something to do anyway, the way to play football and go to school was broken.
What everyone didn't expect was that in this small pizzeria, Raiola found the direction of the future of life.
First, because Dutch was better than his parents, he became responsible for answering calls from the store. Then he listened, and he found that the people in the Netherlands were more rigid, not as flexible and improvised as the Southern Italians. With her gift of language and social skills, Laiola gave herself the position of business consultant, constantly solving seemingly intractable problems and helping her father open more than 20 pizza restaurant chains.
Laiola in her youth
Secondly, he accidentally found that there was a regular customer in the store who came to dinner every Friday night, and he was also an acquaintance of the team he had played for, the president of HFC Haarlem. He began to take the opportunity to frantically vent his dissatisfaction with the team: "Yesterday you lost again, do you want to face it?" What are the people who buy this season, who are you in charge of the transfer? A pig?"
Mr. Chairman began to have a good discussion with the young man, and finally became more and more angry: "You think you understand?" You do it, you have the ability to be this sporting director?"
Unexpectedly, Raiola replied in seconds: "A word is certain, when will I start working?"
Giving up playing football at 18, leaving college at 19, becoming a sports director at 20, what magical script do you say is this? Even more miraculously, the unusual Laiola quickly threw away the book.
His first fire as sports director was to sell most of the team. In Laiola's eyes, too many players in the team are garbage that needs to be cleaned and should be completely rebuilt by themselves. But where does a low-level small team like HFC Haarlem get so much money, the management has held the young director's restless hands.
In order to break this situation, the resourceful Rayola lit a second fire, that is, simply sold the club. He began calling the owners of the teams in his hometown, especially The President of Naples, Ferreno, who was not far from his birthplace, hoping that the rich would buy HFC Haarlem as a satellite team and then hand him over to play live-action FM.
The Italian bosses were shocked, his own bosses were even more shocked, and Raiola, who could not quickly finalize the matter, ran away with a bucket and changed careers to become an agent.
A true saga begins.
In the beginning, he "worked" in someone else's brokerage company, involved in the transaction of sending people from the Netherlands to his hometown of Italy. Brian Roy's move from Ajax to Foggia was his agent's "debut". The following year, Bergkamp and Wim-Jonker were packed up and sent to Inter Milan, which completely established his reputation in this circle.
After accumulating the initial experience and knowledge, Raiola immediately decided to go it alone. He set up a brokerage company called Intermezzo and started with Serie A as the core platform.
The word Intermezzo is derived from the Italian language and means "intermezzo" or "intermission". It's a very interesting name, the agent himself is the middle of the player and the team, and should play a transitional role. And he not only squeezed out the space in it, but also constantly added drama to himself, and even became the protagonist.
02
"The fans hate him"
The British media has summed up that there are two major points to become a super broker, one is the network, and the other is the means. And Raiola has done it to the extreme, or so to speak, in both of these areas.
Let's start with networking.
Rayola is fluent in seven languages, Italian, Dutch, English, German, French, Spanish and Portuguese. In his own words, it should be eight, plus the Neapolitan dialect. These languages are enough to cover the mainstream of world football, help him better communicate with people, and build long-term relationships with all parties.
At the same time, he pays great attention to accumulating more resources in the trading process. For example, as mentioned earlier, his debut was to send Brian Roy to Foggia, and the manager of Fogia at that time was the Czech Zeman. Through the new friend's connections, Raiola opened an office in Prague and signed a young player who was then making a name for himself in Sparta Prague.
That young player, who later became the only Ballon d'Or winner under the Rayola family: Nedved.
Raiola and Nedved
As for the means... Enough to make all the giants jealous, so that all fans hate to itch their teeth.
To put it bluntly, in fact, Laiola's means are, in principle, the traditional moves of the broker. Asking for high-paying contracts, bundling players, letting other clubs want to, threatening free transfers without renewing contracts, and even directly instigating and promoting transfers are all in order to make more money with their players.
What is important is that he has enough ability and energy to maximize the role of these means in a tough attitude and to maximize the interests of his own people. Of course, in such a process, there will definitely be other people whose interests are damaged, and that is naturally the team. And this loss may be economically, or it may be more long-term stability.
There are almost no such stories.
He brought Ibrahimovic, Robinho, Van Bommel, Emmanuel and Pato to AC Milan, and the Serie A champion in the 2010-11 season was dubbed "half of the medallions each for La iola and Galliani". But then he brought Grimmy, Mattioni, Didak and Salamon, the bunch... I don't know how many Milan fans remember now.
Not to mention the operations of signing a short contract, asking for a high salary, a low penalty, and finally leaving freely on Donnarumma in the past few years, which Milan fan can stand this?
Raiola with Donnarumma
When Pogba played for Manchester United's youth team, Ferguson had planned to slowly develop him, but the high-spirited Frenchman felt that he had reached the point where he deserved more games. While yelling in the media that "he doesn't deserve a knighthood at all, he uses people all by hobby", he convinces Pogba and his mother to refuse The Renewal of Manchester United's contract and go to Juve freely.
This angered Ferguson at the press conference: "There are some agents I just don't like, pogba's agent Rayola is one of them. From the first time I met him, I never trusted this man. He's just a piece of crap, and I hope I'll never do business with this guy again."
In order to stand for his players, he offended more than Manchester United and Ferguson.
When Ibrahimovic was at Inter, Raiola asked the club to give him and Maxwell a contract extension and a raise almost every year; at Barca, Raiola first made a high-profile statement that "I want Ibrahimovic to always get 1 euro more than Messi", and then angrily exclaimed that Guardiola is "a great coach, but a coward, a dog."
Balotelli couldn't play at Liverpool and Raiola continued to fire : Klopp doesn't understand fairness at all, he's just a piece of.
Pogba had just renewed his contract with Juve for five years, and Laiola turned around and said, "The contract extension is a renewal, but I don't know how long he can stay in Italy".
As soon as he took over Lukaku, he immediately made a statement: "He is late to find me, otherwise how could he fall into Everton."
Haaland, a supernova from Norway, is still a Dortmund player. But he had already taken the old Haaland all over Europe, more like a luxury show than a star tour.
Rayola and Haland
All kinds of behavior, you don't see the respect this person has for the team and the manager.
As a club operator or a fan of a certain team, you simply can't like this guy, and you can be polite without spitting out the fragrance. Who doesn't want their clubs to have a balanced salary, a stable relationship, and peace of mind to create the greatest value for the collective with a basic salary? However, as long as there are Laiola players in the squad, these are all wishful thinking.
But for the players he represents, the perspective of the problem is completely different.
There is a masterpiece in Laiola's early career, which is the best example. In 1993, he moved the Dutch international Marciano Wink to Genoa. Originally, Genoa planned to offer 5 million euros, but Raiola told the other side: "Ajax has no money, van Gaal also plans to purge his youth army, you can just pay 2 million, I will persuade them to release." But in exchange, you have to pay 2 million more into Wink's contract, and I can earn more commissions, and everyone is happy."
Genoa province 1 million, Vink and Raiolado earned 2 million, and indeed everyone was happy. But...... What about Ajax?
This probably best explains why some people hate him to death and some people love him to death.
03
"The player loves him to death"
Many people say that Laiola's operation is to push players to the opposite side of the club, only to take care of the immediate interests, often detrimental to the development of the entire career.
But the so-called "development of the whole career" is full of too many injuries and other variables, who can predict accurately? According to a report published by the International Players Association, the average time it takes for professional footballers to maintain their peak personal income levels is almost only a short period of eight years. How to harvest the most benefits in these eight years is the most concerned issue for most people.
Although Ibrahimovic did not become the banner of any club, he became a legend of one team and a league after another, and maintained a considerable income everywhere he went. He was repeatedly spat at on frequent transfers with Balotelli, Lukaku and others, but each of these steps seemed to have enough reason at the time.
A quote from Rayola himself may better explain his principles: "I often ask players who want to sign with me, what do you want most?" If he answers I don't know, I'll ask him to go back and figure it out and come back."
What the players want, Raiola will try to help them get something, even if it is by offending everyone. Maximizing profits at the player's own will is the only principle, and transfer or stay is just a different path to this goal.
During Nedved's time with Lazio, the club was in financial crisis due to the shrinking property of the owner behind the scenes, but did not want to let him go easily. After learning of the player's willingness to cut his salary and stay in the team, Rayola immediately negotiated a contract extension with the management. However, on the day of the official signing, Lazio temporarily came up with a lower offer, and Nedved looked hesitantly at his agent. Raiola decisively shelved the negotiations and went out to contact Juve CEO Moji.
At Juventus, Nedved remained until retirement. At his peak, he had few rumors; when he was relegated, he resolutely chose to stay behind; near hanging up his boots, Inter president Moratti wanted to dig people's minds, and head coach Jose Mourinho personally called to woo "Let's win the Treble together", but Nedved told the agent that "my heart does not allow to go there". Raiola immediately declined all invitations, choosing to respect his decision to retire.
Of course, this is not Raiola's style either. "Nedved's performance at Juve is the opposite of my habits. Have you ever met someone who became a leader very quickly after joining the religion? That kind of person is Pavel."
What kind of style is Laiola? Another of his superstars, Ibrahimovic, is the best example.
Ibrahimovic, who was still playing for Ajax, wanted to change agents, and teammate Maxwell introduced him to Raiola. Ibrahimovic, who wanted to make a good impression, drove a Porsche to a gucci to an appointment, and found that Raiola had come wearing a T-shirt and jeans. Even more surprising, the Italian ordered only a few of the cheapest dishes and then began to prove with data that the person sitting opposite was also a dish.
La Fat: "Vieri has scored 24 goals in 27 games, Inzaghi has 20 goals in 25 games, Trezeguet has 20 goals in 24 games, and you have scored 5 goals in 25 games!"
Ibrahimovic: "I want to score so many goals, why are I looking for you?"
Rafat: "So what kind of player do you want to be?"
Ibrahimovic: "The best."
Rafat: "Then you will listen to me in the future."
......
Later in the story we all know, the wandering Ibrahimovic became one of the world's top stars. Maybe staying at a club longer is more likely to win the Champions League or even the Ballon d'Or, but no one can guarantee that he will reach a higher level than he is now.
Raiola and Ibrahimovic
Ibrahimovic called Raiola "my agent, my friend, my teacher, a true genius." To be able to make the invincible Ibrahimovic say such a thing is enough to prove how much effort he has made to pursue the best interests of the players and how much trust he has with his players.
The same thing happened to Balotelli. Once, when Ba Shen found out that his house was on fire, his first reaction was to call him, leaving Laiola speechless: "Why are you calling me?" Call the police!"
Balotelli's words to Raiola were much more than that. He had always felt that Ba Shenli had the best football talent he had ever seen, but he had wasted it. On several occasions, he told Balotelli, both privately and publicly, that "if you don't play well in this team, you'll never get back to the top," and he often tells friends that "Balotelli should have won two or three Ballon d'Ors, but this baby's mind was never on football."
Raiola and Balotelli
Do you think Raiola really only sees the immediate benefits, regardless of the player's career? No, he actually cares more about his players' careers than anyone else – because he can only have the most gains as an agent if the players get the most in their short careers.
04
"The Ultimate of Brokers"
Laiola is definitely not a "good person", whether he cares about the players or helps them, the starting point is undoubtedly to make more money from them.
This is also the essence of football agents, and it is also the fundamental reason why they will not become a bridge between players and clubs, but will only stand on the side of players and become the "enemy" of the club.
Compared with another famous super agent, Mendes, Laiola has taken this essence to the extreme.
According to FIFA regulations, agents can only get a pro-rata contribution from a player's contract salary and cannot participate in the sharing of the transfer fee. In order to circumvent such regulations, Mendes set up a third-party ownership company to "acquire" players, and after this model was banned, he switched to indirect participation in club operations in partnership.
Such an approach makes Mendes's industry no longer limited to the identity of the agent, and seems to have a little more empathy with the club. Of course, Valencia fans may not agree with this.
Two super agents in football, Mendes and Rayola
Raiola is still the one who is Raiola, a tough, cunning, pure agent.
Player agents can't take a commission on the transfer fee? Then I was employed as a transfer agent for Juve Club in front of Pogba's agent, and Manchester United still had my share of the transfer fee.
Prohibits both proxy players and seller clubs? Well done, whoever wants to buy Haaland in the future must let my nephew be an intermediary.
However, this model also has greater risks. Mendez's sphere of influence has expanded, making his current industry decentralized. Although Rayola has her own brokerage company, after all, it is more and more sharp on a road, and her huge influence is heavily dependent on his personality charm and network resources.
Laiola's lung disease has been around for some time. When news of his critical illness came out last year, he had already taken the necessary measures to prepare for his nephew and son to take over and avoid affecting important work such as the next Haaland transfer. But how much longer the future will affect the family business is unknown.
But these are no longer the problems that Laiola considers.
Sabatini, who has worked as a football director for teams such as Lazio and Roma, said: "Although it is very unpleasant to talk to you every time, I will never forget that when I was once very ill, it was you who called my wife and said that she was willing to pay for treatment in the United States. You didn't have to do it at all, but you did it silently."
Renowned journalist Romano wrote a lengthy column for The Guardian: "For fans and coaches, Laiola can be a dream or a nightmare. His goal is always to win the best contract for his clients and himself, he is not a saint, but certainly a game changer."
De Ligt, who was brought to Juve by Raiola, wrote: "Like you said, you are a bad guy who opposes everyone, but at the same time your best friend to me."
As a fan, it's hard for me to like this guy. But if I were a player, I might wish I had an agent like that.
Editor: Yin Haonan