It’s a day of mourning the soccer world. One of the sport’s top agents, Mino Raiola, passed away at the age of 54 due to an undisclosed illness.
Raiola represented stars like Erling Haaland, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Paul Pogba, Matthijs de Ligt, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Jesse Lingard, Blaise Matuidi, Hirving Lozano and Mario Balotelli.
“In infinite sorrow we share the passing of the most caring and amazing football agent that ever was,” his family said in a released statement. “Mino fought until the end with the same strength he put on negotiation tables to defend our players. As usual, Mino made us proud and never realized it. Mino touched so many lives through his work and wrote a new chapter in the history of modern football. His presence will forever be missed.
“Mino’s mission of making football a better place for players will continue with the same passion. We thank everybody for the huge amount of support received during these difficult times and ask for respect to the privacy of family and friends in this moment of grief.”
The news also comes days after reports of his death broke prematurely.
On Thursday, Raiola tweeted, “Current health status for the ones wondering: pissed off second time in four months they kill me. Seem also able to ressuscitate (sic).” His business partner, Jose Fortes Rodrigues, also told ESPN at the time that Raiola was in serious condition after being admitted to Milan’s San Raffaele Hospital in January.
The Italian-born Raiola grew up playing soccer, but he didn’t make it as a professional. He started working as an agent for Sports Promotions and started his own company. Six years ago, he made a then-world-record deal of transferring Pogba from Juventus to Manchester United for £89.3 million.