‘A bunch of lowlifes’ tried to STEAL Mino Raiola’s players the day he died, lawyer Rafaela Pimenta reveals… with ‘thousands of phone calls’ for Erling Haaland, Paul Pogba and PSV star Xavi Simons
Mino Raiola died in April and Rafaela Pimenta started running the agency
Pimenta has revealed that ‘lowlifes’ tried to steal their high profile players
Erling Haaland, Paul Pogba and Xavi Simons were all targeted by phone calls
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Rival agents tried to take Mino Raiola’s players the day he died, Brazilian lawyer Rafaela Pimenta has claimed.
Raiola died in April after an illness and Pimenta, who now runs his players’ agency that cares for stars like Erling Haaland and Paul Pogba, has described how rivals saw his death as an opportunity to take away some of his big clients. .
While she said she’d gotten a lot of support from figures like Gareth Bale’s agent Jonathan Barnett, she added that “low-lifes” were trying to take advantage of his sudden death.
“There are also a bunch of lowlifes who have called the players,” Pimenta told the Telegraph.
“One called (Walter) Benítez the day Mino died. And Wanda, his wife, answered and she gave him such a tongue whip and said, “You should be ashamed of yourself.”
‘Before Mino died, they called them Alphonse (Areola). Thousands of people called Xavi (Simons), thousands of people called Erling (Haaland), thousands of people called Paul (Pogba).
“They also called me and said, ‘If you need help, I can run the business for you.’”
Players were totally shocked by the news of Raiola’s death.
Haaland labeled his former agent as ‘the best’, while Juventus president Andrea Agnelli wrote his own unique tribute, instructing Raiola to ‘don’t gamble in paradise’.
Pogba also paid his respects after changing his profile picture on Instagram to one of him with the rep, saying, “Always in my heart. Thank you Mimi.’
But there was a chance that Pimenta would have their star stable raided in a time of mourning.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Ryan Gravenberch, Matthijs de Ligt, Mario Balotelli, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Marco Verratti and Gianluigi Donnarumma are other high-profile names in the Raiola stable.
In a lengthy two-hour interview, Pimenta, 49, discussed the discrimination she has faced as a woman and how ruthless she is when it comes to getting players the best deals.
Pimenta, who previously liked to operate in the background with Raiola, who died aged 54, speaking to the press, played a pivotal role in the negotiations over Haaland’s move from Borussia Dortmund to Manchester City.
Haaland labeled Raiola ‘the best’ when he paid his respects to the influential representative
Warnings during those negotiations that Raiola had died — they emerged in Italy but turned out to be fake — interrupted the negotiations before he passed away three days later.
Pimenta and her team then fought to keep lowlifes from poaching players amid uncertainty following Raiola’s death.
“Maybe I went through something that should put my life on hold, but of course the players loved Mino, but they need to be taken care of,” she added.
Paul Pogba and Henrikh Mkhitaryan both benefited from the agent’s negotiating skills
‘I had [Henrikh] mkhitaryan, [Walter] Benitez en [Alphonse] Areola who had to change or renew clubs. The only way I can appreciate their care, their love, their loyalty is if I give them everything. I couldn’t go home and cry.’
Haaland and Pogba both made moves in the summer, with Haaland heading to Man City and Pogba returning to Juventus after his Manchester United contract expired.
The other player at the center of ‘thousands’ of phone calls was 19-year-old sensation Simons, who made a surprising regular move from Paris Saint-Germain to PSV Eindhoven in June.