Mino Raiola holds the key to ‘Operation Haaland’

Mino Raiola’s opinion will weigh heavily in Haaland’s final decision. The Italian agent was in favor of having already removed the striker from Borussia last summer (“staying is taking a risk”), but the German leaders firmly refused. In a recent interview with AS, in May 2021, the representative outlined the main lines of what will be the main parameters that will be taken into account: “My job is to maximize the economic performance of the player, but it must be an important project. You can’t buy a player like that without having an idea or a project for the future,” he said confidently.

“Haaland is interested in two things: scoring goals, because he is like a Cristiano or a Zlatan, he has that positive obsession, and winning titles”, told AS Raiola in May. “And he will choose, surely, where those two things together are given more. It is very difficult to lie. When a club like Barcelona or Madrid arrives, with so much history and so great, it is difficult to say no. PSG is entering this group of greats, City is trying to get there. The championship they play also matters. PSG plays the worst league of the big ones.” Regarding City’s interest, yesterday even The Times speculated on the possibility that Guardiola would agree to have him there for a couple of seasons as a bridge to later signing for a Madrid without Benzema. Too weird.

Raiola’s influence in the Haaland family is total. And the agent has edges with most of the clubs that want the Norwegian. The best unemployed is Barça, because his relationship with Laporta is excellent. The culé problem is that Haaland, the team he wants to go to, is Madrid. City also has its handicap, and it is Guardiola himself, who had a tough time with Raiola because of his problems with Ibrahimovic. The same thing happens with United, in which Pogba (also from Raiola) feels mistreated in recent times and from which he is going to leave by finishing his contract, through the back door. PSG is the other that starts with an advantage with Mino, the agent has Donnaruma, Verratti and Xavi Simons there. What is clear is that this step by Haaland will be definitive: “A train passes by and what do you do, do you catch it or don’t you catch it? That’s the big question,” Raiola said then in AS.