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Haaland, Pogba and Ibrahimovich among the eight biggest stars who were on the books of Mino Raiola

Mino Raiola created a legacy as one of the highest profile superagents in football, having been central to some of the biggest transfers and contracts in the sport.

Mino Raiola's role as a football agent saw him involved in some of the biggest transfers across the sporting world, with the Italian racking up an impressive client list. 

Following the death of the 52-year-old Italian superagent, we take a look at some of the biggest stars he represented?

Who was Mino Raiola?

After a brief stint as a footballer, Raiola hung his boots aged 18 to explore different avenues in football.

Firstly, he tried coaching a youth team, but quickly swapped that for a role as an agent. His first opportunity came at an organisation named Sports Promotions, who predominantly represented Dutch and Italian footballers.

There, Raiola was involved in a number of huge transfers, including that of Dennis Bergkamp, when the Dutch star moved to Inter Milan in 1993.

Having proved himself, Raiola jumped ship to start his own business, with his first major client none other than Pavel Nedved, who he helped join Lazio from Sparta Prague.

Raiola quickly rose to the top of the game and saw his client list expand rapidly, but who were the biggest stars on his books? Planet Sport outlines the top eight.

Erling Haaland

Without doubt Raiola's star prodigy was Erling Haaland, who has risen to stardom at Borussia Dortmund.

The 21-year-old has been billed as one of the world's best strikers and is on every major club's wanted list this summer.

A move to the Etihad Stadium to play under Pep Guardiola at Manchester City seem most likely, with the Premier League club ready to piece together a hefty financial package to secure Haaland's signature.

Raiola had previously helped Haaland complete a £20million move to Borussia Dortmund in 2019 after the Norwegian star had rejected a switch to Manchester United.

Paul Pogba

Another star expected to make a big move this summer is Paul Pogba, whose Manchester United contract runs out at the end of July.

Pogba and Raiola have worked together throughout the French star's career, with the Italian superagent helping to orchestrate the huge £89million transfer between Juventus and Manchester United in 2016.

Things haven't quite worked out for Pogba at Old Trafford, and it seems inevitable that he'll move again this summer, with Juventus looking favourites to secure his return.

Gianluigi Donnarumma

Gianluigi Donnarumma

After rising to fame at AC Milan, Gianluigi Donnarumma made a switch to PSG in 2021 with help from Raiola.

The Italian settled in Milan and became one of the world's best shot-stoppers, and now plies his trade in Paris after signing a contract worth £8million a year.

At just 23 years old, there's no doubt Donnarumma has plenty of potential still to fulfil. He was one of the most promising stars on Raiola's books.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic

Zlatan Ibrahimovic

In contrast, Zlatan Ibrahimovic is coming to the end of his iconic footballing career. The Swede has represented a remarkable nine clubs across his 23-year career, including Manchester United, AC Milan, Juventus and Barcelona.

Much of that was down to his relationship with Raiola, who has been there all the way.

With his transfers equating to nearly £200million collectively, there's no surprise that Raiola and Zlatan got on so well.

Matthijs de Ligt

Matthijs De Ligt
The former Ajax star was one of a handful of players poached from the Dutch club after their remarkable Champions League run back in 2018/19.
Still only 22 years old, De Ligt was one of the most sought-after centre-backs in the world, and eventually made a £68million switch to Juventus in 2019.

Like Donnarumma, De Ligt is a player that has plenty of potential yet to fulfil - and moves still to orchestrate.

Marco Verratti

Marco Verratii, PSG

Unlike some of his other clients, Raiola had a relatively easy time of it on the transfer front with Marco Verratti, who has enjoyed an incredible career at PSG since 2012.

The Italian stands at just 5ft 5in but is one of the world's best midfielders, and has frequently attracted the attention of other European powerhouses.

Nevertheless, he has remained committed to the Parc de Princes club, racking up close to 250 appearances for the French giants.

Ryan Gravenberch

Ryan Gravenberch, Ajax

Another promising young star who was under Raiola's stewardship was Ryan Gravenberch, who currently represents Ajax.

At just 19 years old, he's already made over 70 appearances for the Dutch club, following on from his debut in 2018.

Gravenberch looks set to become the next big star to come out of the Ajax academy, and it only seems a matter of time until he makes the step up.

Mario Balotelli

Mario Balotelli believes he has the same qualities as Ronaldo and Messi

Perhaps Mario Balotelli is past his prime now at 31 years old, but the Italian forward is a household name for a reason, and that's because he's played for some of the biggest clubs in Europe.

Inter Milan, AC Milan, Manchester City and Liverpool have all had the daring striker on their books and Raiola was central to all of those transfers.

Balotelli now plays for Adana Demirspor, which tells you all you need to know about how his career is going.

READ MORE: The tightest ever Premier League title races, featuring Liverpool, Man Utd and, of course, Aguero

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