Italian media broke a story which sent shockwaves across the football world. Reports circulated of the death of super-agent Mino Raiola, whose clientele includes the likes of Erling Haaland, Paul Pogba, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Matthijs de Ligt and Zlatan Ibrahimovic- who was suffering from an illness since January – a fact which he had confirmed himself.
Condolences followed, but news broke through soon enough, indicating the Italo-Dutchman might not have passed away after all. Raiola’s representatives confirmed the same to journalists shortly after, while his friend Jose Fortes Rodriguez informed the media that while Raiola was in poor condition, he was still alive.
Alberto Zangrillo, the ICU chief at Milan’s San Raffaele Hospital – where Raiola is receiving treatment – was “indignant” at the reports of his patient’s death:
“I’m indignant at the phone calls by pseudo-journalists speculating on the life of a man who is fighting (for his life),”
he was quoted by ANSA.
Finally, putting an end to all speculation was Raiola himself, who took to Twitter to confirm that he was alive despite reports stating otherwise just an hour earlier.
The 54-year-old had undergone an operation for a lung-related problem at the San Raffaele in January and was heard from little since. However, the super-agent’s name was never out of the media, with several of his clients anticipating a big move this summer.
He is expected to be heavily involved in the 2022 transfer window – just two months away – facilitating transfers for two of his biggest clients, Haaland and Pogba. With a net worth of over 60 million pounds, his client list also includes Marco Verratti (PSG), Moise Kean (Juventus), Ryan Gravenberch (AFC Ajax), Hirving Lozano (Napoli), and Stefan de Vrij (Inter Milan) – among several others.
