The man dubbed football’s super-agent, Mino Raiola, is lying critically ill in a Milan hospital, Newsbreak reports.
Although widespread reports in Italy claimed he had died, the 54-year-old later tweeted on Thursday to say he is still alive.
Raiola famously represents stars such as Paul Pogba, Erling Haaland, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Romelu Lukaku, Mario Balotelli, Marco Verratti and Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
Raiola had been hospitalised in Milan in January and underwent a surgery, but the nature of the illness was not disclosed.
Reports said at the time the condition wasn’t life-threatening and that Raiola would begin a period of rehabilitation at home.
The multi-lingual football agent worked his way up from humble beginnings to become one of the most influential figures in world when it comes to football, brokering mega-deals involving some of the most prominent footballers.
See some reactions on Twitter following the initial news of Raiola’s passing below:
Super Agent Mino Raiola Rest On 🖤
Legend in the game 💐 #MinoRaiola #RestInPeace
— aderonkeadesola (@OloriSports) April 28, 2022
I didn’t like how he behaved as a football agent but hearing about his death is still very sad.
RIP Mino Raiola 🕊 pic.twitter.com/MkCR9r3bXd
— Jᴀᴄᴋʏ Hᴇɴᴄʜᴍᴀɴ♦️ (@JackyHenchman) April 28, 2022
Life is so short, the amount of RIP we are having to put out lately is insane. Enjoy everyone close to you. RIP in peace Mino Raiola 🙏🏾❤️
— Trey (@UTDTrey) April 28, 2022
Shocked to hear about the passing of Raiola. Bit of a pantomine villain to many in football but still sad to hear of a character of the game passing. RIP
— Mark Goldbridge (@markgoldbridge) April 28, 2022
