Football's 'super agent' Mino Raiola passes away at 54

Football's 'super agent' Mino Raiola passed away on Saturday at the age of 54 in an Italian hospital after battling a prolonged illness, his family said in a statement.

The Italian moved to the Netherlands to play for FC Haarlem as a player at the youth level. Not being able to succeed as a professional footballer, Raiola became an agent, initially working for a company called Sports Promotions.

He later started working independently and his first transfer was Pavel Nedved's move from Sparta Prague to Lazio in 1996.

He became one of the most popular and powerful football agents in the world, who handled clients including Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Erling Haaland and Paul Pogba.

He is regarded as being one of the toughest negotiators in the world of football, as he has a history of being able to make or break any potential transfer deal.

One of the biggest deals overseen by Raiola was Pogba's return to Manchester United from Juventus for a then world-record fee of 89 million pounds in 2016.

Just on Thursday, there were false rumours of his death all over the internet when an Italian media house announced the agent had died on the morning of 28 April following an illness.