Exclusive Interview | Raiola to AS: “There will only be one chance to sign Haaland”

Tell me, what is your opinion of Madrid?

There is a reality with Florentino, and it is that he created that brand of Los Galacticos that people of my generation still think about. It was a great creation. The history of Madrid as a club is incredible. Being there for a footballer is fantastic. But in comparison with Barça, it must be said that Madrid is founded on great footballers. Instead, Barça is formed on a philosophy.

And does that affect the player who goes there?

For me, if Ibrahimovic had gone to Madrid today he would still be playing there. Because Zlatan is not formed on the strength of a philosophy, but on that of a great player, such as Benzema, Cristiano, Di Stéfano or Puskas. They are formed on pure talent, and Barça on a philosophy, on an idea of ​​the game that you or I could enter if they put you into that system. Another difference, for me, is that Madrid let Cristiano go. Barcelona did not let Messi go, because he was fundamental to their philosophy.

How is your relationship with Florentino?

I have a relationship with José Ángel Sánchez.

Not with Florentino?

Not especially. I like more to talk to sports or general directors, like José Ángel Sánchez. I talk to a president if he has similar functions… I think of Gino Pozzo, who is president, sports director, coach, attacker, central defender… Then there are other cases, like Agnelli, who is my friend and I speak to him a couple of times a year , sometimes on other topics. But from Juve I deal with Paratici, as with Milan with Maldini.

After Haaland, is Pogba one of Raiola's concerns for this summer?

When a player asks you what we are going to do, it is a great responsibility. That's when you stay up all night thinking what is better … I try to make it a process together with the footballer to see what is really in his heart. Ibrahimovic knows that I was against him going to Barça, and he wanted to because it was a Barça of a very high level. And although people may think otherwise, I believe that (that failed move) was a great thing, not a great defeat. Because he learned much more in six months than in long stages of his life. With Pogba, the important thing now is to know what United wants, what project is proposing to Pogba. Pogba is interested in one thing, winning the Champions League and winning titles, and we are going to see where this is possible, if at United or at other clubs.

Why isn't Pogba at Madrid?

It is a question to ask Madrid. At one time Pogba felt a lot of love and trust from United, and there were several other clubs… Later, it is very difficult for United and Madrid to understand each other for a great transfer, because strong clubs do not want to sell strong players to other strong clubs. And I'm not going to fool him, for Pogba playing for Madrid was always a very attractive thing for Zidane too. He is his idol as a young man.

Is it possible now?

I do not know. I think that nothing is impossible, but football depends on the day. As it is. And you have to be flexible to think of all the possibilities. And if tomorrow Madrid wants to make a Hazard-Pogba change? It is just an example. And if all four parties like it, why not?

What is your opinion of the Super League?

One radically different from the rest. I have always led a battle against FIFA, against this monopoly mentality that I don't like. We don't need FIFA to play football… But my great observation about the Super League is that the organizers wanted to do without the Champions League to play it. And it is a mistake. The key word here is “also”.

What does it mean?

Ferrari can go with one car to Formula 1 and with another to LeMans. Why can't Madrid play in the Champions League and in the Super League? It would be the most wonderful experiment in the world of football. Have two tournaments, Champions and Super League. And let the general public decide which one they like best.

I understand.

If I owned a club, I would want my team to play the Super League and also the Champions League… And of course the national leagues. For the footballers it would be good, and for the fans too. That competition would force the organizers to make really attractive tournaments. Not today, if someone wants to see top-level football, they have the Champions League… and that's enough.

So he's very much in favor …

I watched with disbelief the protests in the street of the people. They were protests against something that had not yet been explained. They protested against the feeling of a closed competition. But the Super League should not be an obligation, eh? If you hate it, don't buy the rights or pay to see it. If you want to see it … go ahead. But the key is the word “also”.

Don't you think that the Super League means selling elite football to the Americans?

Why are Americans buying the clubs in Europe? Why don't Europeans buy them? Because there is money here, but there is no such spirit of investing in sport. If you buy a club in Europe, for the people and for the banks you are crazy. An American, on the other hand, buys the club with an idea, with the idea of ​​business, of the economy, as they bought Liverpool or United. And one thing happens, you can't tell these people: you can buy a club like United, but you can't have their American mentality. And the reality is that MLS, NFL or NBA are organized in this way… Those people who protested on the street, did they hate the NBA on Sunday night? Is Formula 1 open?

Don't you think that the Super League would end the national leagues?

Fake. It is the Champions League itself and the Financial Fair Play that have created the differences between big and small clubs. The reason is simple. In the case of Spain, they are almost always the same six teams that enter European competitions: Real Madrid, Atlético, Barcelona, ​​Seville, Villarreal, Valencia … Well, they are the ones who always share the slightly more than one hundred million that they offer each year Champions and Europa League. And the gap with others is getting bigger and bigger.

Does playing two tournaments pose a problem of dates?

Tell me how many players Barcelona or Real Madrid have in the squad. The clubs today have a problem, that they have more players than can fit in the team. I have been thinking about this for years … and the only fixed rule should be that you cannot change a star from one tournament to another. The obligation should be to give the list that plays that competition before the start. That would allow clubs to strategize which competition they want to give more importance to and even hire certain players to play each of those competitions. A club will have to think: am I going to hire Ibrahimovic to play the Champions League or the Super League?

But of course, UEFA and FIFA will be fiercely opposed.

The fact is that the monopoly they exercise does not seem to me to be in accordance with the spirit of football or sport. In boxing there are already four or five federations. Golf organizes a World Cup without having a federation. The Swimming Federation has already lost in the European justice a lawsuit over that they are not the only ones who can organize the competitions …

Is FIFA at the weakest moment in its history?

For me there is one important thing, it is an organization that has already fallen into several scandals. If one falls once, okay. But if scandals are always the same every four or five years, it is no longer an accident, it is already a way of being. Do we agree that these people rule us? It's totally crazy. The problem is if we have a right or if they do you a favor. It is not possible for FIFA to decide who is going to play a World Cup or not based on whether you do something nice or not in their eyes. We are talking about a very opaque and closed organization.

What model do you propose to organize football without FIFA?

The great strength of football is that it survives despite FIFA (laughs). I believe that football itself would have to create a platform to fix its affairs at all levels and that FIFA democratically discuss general things such as the rules of football, if we make the biggest goals, the offside … What is more, for that it was founded. Absolute power corrupts.

Why do you think they want to regulate agent activity?

Listen, FIFA has to cover up a lot of problems, and to do so it creates other problems. On the other hand, it is increasingly clear that those who have the true strength in football are the players, because they are the ones who generate everything, and thus want to reduce their ability to act and strength.

They say you have too much influence.

To say that we ‘throw away’ football money is like Kim Jong-un saying that North Korea is the best country in the world. It is a theorem that only you can understand if you are very crazy or very stupid. They don't know what football is like. Ok, we are also going to limit the salaries of the footballers, or the transfers, or the tickets for the matches. Why does FIFA increase the money from sponsors, television rights… every year? Why not limit that too?

What about influence?

The job of an agent is to protect the interests of footballers as much as possible. And that of the sports directors defend the interests of the clubs. It's like buying a Rolls Royce and not paying for a driver. Or buy a plane and not hire a pilot. It's totally crazy. We are also part of football. I, of course, never went to a negotiation with a gun on the table. If we exist it is because the players need us and the clubs need us too.