5 of Mino Raiola's most valuable clients
Mino Raiola is a name that is very familiar to football fans. He represents a large number of high-profile footballers. Despite being a divisive figure in the world of football, Raiola offers great service to his clients and is very efficient when it comes to striking lucrative deals for them.
Mino Raiola does not shy away from making controversial statements
The super-agent is famous for making the news with his outlandish statements, mostly with respect to his high-profile clients. For example, he has publicly undermined his client Paul Pogba's club Manchester United on multiple occasions.
Raiola does this to sway public opinion and amp up the pressure on the clubs so that the players he represents can get their way.
Without further ado, let's take a look at five of Mino Raiola's most valuable clients.
#5 Marco Verratti (Paris Saint-Germain) - €55 million
Marco Verratti is one of the best midfielders in the world. The Italian international played a key role in Italy's triumphant run at Euro 2020. Verratti is a diminutive midfielder with a very low center of gravity. He is extremely agile and is excellent with the ball at his feet.
These qualities make him an elusive presence in midfield. The 29-year-old is also a wonderful passer of the ball and can upend defences with his precise and incisive through balls. Verratti is currently tied to PSG until 2024. He has been with the Ligue 1 giants since 2012 and is one of their most important players.
The Italian is very injury prone and that has stopped Verratti from maximizing his potential. But on his day, he is simply unstoppable.
Neymar puts Marco Verratti alongside some of the greatest midfielders he's ever played with.
Elite company 👏 https://t.co/tKcQb10Oby
#4 Paul Pogba (Manchester United) - €55 million
Mino Raiola has made headlines by speaking out about Paul Pogba's future multiple times in the recent past. It's safe to say that he has no admirers in the red half of Manchester, particularly after he undermined the club with his comments in December 2020.
He said:
“It is useless to go around it. Better to speak clearly, look ahead and not waste time looking for culprits. Paul at Manchester United is unhappy, he is no longer able to express himself as he would like and as expected of him. He has to change teams, he has to change the air.
“He has a contract that will expire in a year and a half, in the summer of 2022, but I believe the best solution for the parties is to sell it to the next market.
"Otherwise, the Old Trafford club, with which relations are excellent, knows that they would risk losing him on a free transfer, given that for the moment it is not the player’s intention to extend the contract.
"If someone doesn’t understand it – they understand very little about football. In any case, let them blame me if Paul leaves next summer.”
Despite those comments, Pogba continues to be at Manchester United but is set to become a free agent this summer. The Frenchman is one of the best playmakers in the world, but for now his future remains unresolved.
It is unclear whether Mino Raiola is going to seek a new contract offer from United for his client or if he is looking for a new destination for him.
In 19 appearances across all competitions for Manchester United this season, the 28-year-old has scored one goal and provided eight assists.
Thread:
Switching play is a common pass in football but they are not all equal. Some players have superior playmaking abilities that make their switches far more valuable than average.
Paul Pogba demonstrated this skilfully in a recent game. https://t.co/hRjz75Z0dz