Italian football agent Mino Raiola is reportedly "very ill" following false rumours of his death. The Italian, 54, is one of the most notable agents in world football, representing the likes of Erling Haaland, Paul Pogba and Zlatan Ibrahimovic among a number of other high-profile clients.
Reports in Italy announced the agent had died on Thursday morning following an illness. Yet sources close to the Italian were quick to say that these were "fake rumours". Jose Fortes Rodriguez, a close colleague of the Italian, told reporters: "He's in a bad position, but he hasn't died."
Taking to Twitter on Thursday afternoon, Raiola said: "Current health status for the ones wondering: p***** off second time in 4 months they kill me. Seem also able to ressuscitate."
READ MORE: Man United plot £13m swoop to sign 'next N'Golo Kante' as Tottenham dealt major transfer blow
Raiola is thought to be in the San Raffaele Hospital in Milan, according to the Daily Mirror. "I’m outraged by the phone calls from pseudo-journalists speculating on the life of a man who is fighting to survive," Alberto Zangrillo - a doctor at the hospital - is reported as saying.
Whilst he was born in Italy, Raiola's parents moved to the Netherlands just one-year after his birth, growing up in Haarlem. He played football for the local side, HFC Haarlem, before becoming the head of their youth team.
He also dabbled in being an administrator, before settling on becoming an agent for Sports Promotion, playing a part in the transfers of a number of Dutch superstars. This included the move of Dennis Bergkamp to Inter Milan in 1993.
Raiola then decided to break away and form his own agency business, with the transfer of Pavel Nedved to Lazio labelled as his first big move following his performances in Euro 1996, where Nedved helped guide the Czech Republic to the final. That is where he began to build his legacy, with his ability to speak seven different languages helping him gain several high-profile clients.
In 2016 he helped play a huge role in the World Record transfer of Paul Pogba from Juventus to Manchester United, joining for roughly £90million. His current list of clients includes: Erling Haaland, Matthijs de Ligt, Paul Pogba, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Marco Verrati, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Steven de Vrij among others.
This story has been updated.
