4 footballers who have their fathers as agents
Agents play a crucial part in a footballer's life. From negotiating better terms in a contract for clients, to managing his off-field life, agents have a big say in the career of the players. Hence, it is important to have a good agent for a footballer to have the best possible life as a professional.
Agents have become such an important element in today's football, as most of the transfers happen only through them. In fact, a lot of money is paid to them to make their clients sign for a particular club. We have seen the likes of Mino Raiola and Jorge Mendes who have preferences with a few clubs, and in most cases, their clients secure transfers to those clubs only.
Involving family members in the professional life of a player is a rarity in any sport. However, there have been the cases of family relations becoming the agents or managers of certain players in many sports. It is prevalent in football, as we have seen a number of cases where the father is the agent of his son who is a footballer.
On that note, here is a list of 4 footballers who have their own fathers as their agents, thereby allowing them make crucial decisions regarding their careers.
#1 Neymar - Neymar Santos Sr.
One of the most famous father and son duo has been Neymar and his father. Neymar Sr. was instrumental in bringing Neymar from Brazil to Barcelona, and also secured a world-record move for his son from Barcelona to PSG in 2017.
Neymar Sr. has been a major influence in Neymar's phenomenal rise as a footballer. Neymar Santos has also been helping his son battle a few cases in court as well.
In fact, Neymar Sr. was also a professional footballer, but was not hugely successful. In fact, Neymar Santos Sr. was playing out his final years at Mogi Das Cruzes, a sprawling industrial suburb located on the outskirts of Sao Paulo when Neymar was born.
Initially, Wagner Ribeiro used to be Neymar's agent before his father started looking after his son's affairs. He has now become popular after deciding to manage his son's affairs off the field.
#2 Lionel Messi - Jorge Messi
Lionel Messi is one of the most popular football players in the world right now. The Argentine has won almost every possible accolade at club and individual level, and he is still in the best of form this season.
Lionel Messi has been with Spanish giants Barcelona ever since he came from Argentina. Although he was linked to a number of clubs throughout his career, Messi has not left his boyhood club. A major factor for this has been his agent father, Jorge Messi.
Jorge has been the agent of Lionel Messi, and has been responsible for securing timely contract renewals for his son. Messi has had a number of issues with tax evasion, and Jorge has stood with him all through this.
Although it is highly unlikely that Messi would leave Barca, any such move would involve Jorge as well.