PHOTO: Bildbyrån + X
Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s former agent Mino Raiola passed away last year.
Now “Ibra” opens up about the difficult loss.
– He was a role model for me, he says in an interview with Piers Morgan on TV4.
Mino Raiola where Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s agent for many, many years. It wasn’t long before the duo were no longer just colleagues but also good friends. In the spring of 2022, Raiola died at home as a result of health problems, aged 54.
Zlatan opens up
The agent’s death was difficult for Zlatan.
– It was a big loss. There is still a great loss, and I still miss him to this day. And I will miss him forever, he was not just an agent for me, he was everything, he says in the attention-grabbing interview with Piers Morgan which is broadcast on TV4.
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Zlatan describes that his career did not start when he moved to Ajax, his career started when he met Raiola.
– We did everything together. Football, outside of football, I shared all the moments with him. Happy moments, bad moments. Even in my private life, I used to introduce him to girls and ask “what do you say, is she for me or not” and he would say yes or no. So he was involved in everything, really everything.
The tribute to Raiola
After last season, in May 2023, Ibrahimovic decided to hang up his boots after 24 years as a professional footballer. A decision that may have been influenced by Raiola’s death.
– When the tragic thing happened to me last year, it wasn’t the same after that. Football became different for me and in everything I did because we shared everything. He always used to trigger me like that. So I took it very hard, and my game hadn’t been the same because I’m doing things on my own and not with someone, which I always used to do.
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“Ibra” says that he would not have been the person he is today if it were not for Raiola.
– He was a role model for me. Father, friend, agent, role model, and I learned a lot from him. Like I said, I still miss him. We all miss him, concludes Zlatan.
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