Raiola, the king of prosecutors between Dutch pizzas and business

The most powerful and feared agent in European football has died at the age of 54

the character / 1

Fifty-four years only. The disbelief that adds to the pain. The violent perception of fragility in the face of destiny. When it comes down, nothing makes sense anymore, neither power nor money. Mino Raiola owned both of them and it was not grace received, he had built an empire starting from nothing, from the restaurant opened in Haarlem, a stone’s throw from Amsterdam, from his father and mother who emigrated from Angri, in the province of Salerno, when he was just eight months old. They called him “Il pizzaiolo” and the tone betrayed the meaning: admiration for a self made man or contemptuous reference to humble origins. He told, amused, that he had never baked a Margherita, but that he had brought them to the tables, and he was proud of it because that place had been his school, more than the high school and the interrupted university.

Helping his parents, accountant and not just a waiter, he discovered the entrepreneurial vocation and the inclination for languages: he spoke seven, the Italian of the roots and the Dutch of the second homeland, the English learned as a child watch Disney in the original, German, French, Spanish and Portuguese. He loved the ball, he had scored a few goals in the Haarlem youth teams, but the first mediations had nothing to do with it: Dutch and Italian traders had opposite ways and methods in business and Mino, at the registry office Carmine, smoothed out, approached, found the point in agreement. Football arrived shortly after, chatting with the Haarlem president who was going to dinner in his club: he was so convincing, or cheeky, that he was appointed, in his twenties, head of the youth sector and then sporting director.

He quickly learned the tricks of the transfer market, obtained from the players union the position of representative of the Dutch abroad, brought Bryan Roy to Foggia, Dennis Bergkamp and Wim Jonk to Inter, then passed the FIFA agent exam and started the climbing. Among the first assisted Pavel Nedved, transferred from Sparta Prague to Lazio for 9 billion old lire and, five seasons later, to Juventus for 75. Bianconero also became Zlatan Ibrahimovic, a close friend before being the spearhead of the team, known as a small narcissus to Ajax and transformed into a gladiator: he told of having won his trust by giving him at the first meeting of the str …, abruptly explaining to him that to become the best he no longer had to be a cool boy but to work hard. Zlatan understood and the initial bad impression was shattered: that “fat gnome” in a T-shirt who had “devoured food for five” would become his guru. The look interested Mino, those who reproached him for appearing unkempt replied that he was discussing money and not fashion and that indeed appearance was a weapon so they underestimated him and tore him more, in fact he moved top players and millions in bermuda shorts and Hawaiian shirt: Paul Pogba, Erling Haaland, Mario Balotelli, Matthijs de Ligt, Gigio Donnarumma, Stefan De Vrij, Marco Verratti, Rayn Gravenberch, Moise Kean. All very close. Mino has changed the role of the manager, he has defended their interests against everything and everyone, not caring to antagonize executives, colleagues and politicians. Desecrating, on the other hand. Provocative, unscrupulous, cheeky. And who could have been in awe of someone capable of accusing the major sports institutions of the Mafia and giving the incompetent to one of his highest representatives? He was among the most talked about agents, but also among the best and richest: fourth in the world for Forbes in 2020 with a turnover of 84.7 million dollars and a turnover of 847.7, the assets are not accurately estimated but it is said to be close to 500 million euros.

Everything paled in the face of the disease, faced with courage but unfortunately stronger: «Mino fought with all his strength as he did to defend his players – says the family announcement -. He was part of the lives of many footballers and wrote an indelible chapter in the history of modern football. We will miss him forever and his project to make the world of football a better place for players will be carried out with passion ». –