Mino Raiola has made his fair share of enemies in football, but
his list of clientele reads like a who’s who of European football’s biggest
talents. Paul Pogba,
Zlatan Ibrahimovic and new kid on the block Erling Haaland are all
under Raiola’s agency, meaning any club that is interested in their services
will have to enquire through him.Borussia Dortmund star Haaland is undeniably
one of the most coveted assets in world football.
The former RB Salzburg man already has 31 goals to his name thus
far this campaign, and notched an assist mid-week in Dortmund’s 2-1 first leg
away defeat at the hands of Manchester City,
one of his potential suitors.
At just 20 years of age, the Norwegian striker is in high-demand,
with Real Madrid, Manchester City and Chelsea all reported to be admirers of
Dortmund’s leading marksman.According to The Athletic,
Chelsea could be the first club to blink, with the Blues moving to
ease relations with Haaland’s agent, Raiola.
Tensions have been present between agent and club since Chelsea
were left enraged by Raiola’s actions after they were beaten to the signature
of Romelu Lukaku in 2017.Another client of Raiola’s,
Lukaku was reportedly telling Chelsea staff he was gearing up to
return to his former side, before signing for Manchester United at the last
minute.
It is a testament to Chelsea’s sheer desire to secure Haaland that
the Blues have gone to great lengths to soothe tension with Raiola, an
infamously tricky character to do business with. Raiola is thought to have huge
influence over where his clients go,
but this does not necessarily mean Haaland is now bound for the
Bridge.If simply the number of clubs in pursuit wasn’t enough of an obstacle,
Dortmund are rumoured to be demanding a figure around £128million, which would
be £35million more than current record signing Kai Havertz.
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