Football agent Mino Raiola, who brokered the deal that saw Paul Pogba return to ManU for a world-record fee on Tuesday, "may be loved by the players he represents, but he is not exactly held in high esteem by the clubs who employ them," according to Emma Thomasson of REUTERS. Former ManU Manager Alex Ferguson said of Raiola after he struck a deal to move Pogba to Juventus in '12, "I distrusted him from the moment I met him. There are one or two football agents I simply do not like -- and Mino Raiola is one of them."
Raiola fired back, "I put Pogba's interests first. ... Maybe Ferguson only likes those who obey him."
Raiola's Amsterdam-based firm Maguire took its name from "Jerry Maguire." The Pogba deal is the third Raiola has struck with ManU under new Manager José Mourinho, "following the recent signing of striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic and midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan as the Portuguese coach seeks to revamp the underperforming squad." The Italian media has dubbed Raiola "Mister 300 Million" as he has now negotiated deals worth more than €300M ($335M) -- including Pogba's record fee of £89M ($115.42M).
According to the football news website goal.com, Raiola "is taking a 20 percent commission for his services, double the usual agent's fee." It said that "his large commission had held up the talks" with ManU (REUTERS, 8/9).
