Sabatini reveals an extraordinary gesture by Raiola

Mino Raiolasadly passed away yesterday, has left a very deep mark on the world of football. He has received a lot of criticism for his way of working with the clubs, for his very tough negotiations and for his record commissions, which changed the rules of the game and the transfer market. Those who lived closely with him, however, in these hours are recounting his most human facet, the one that made his players, as Ibrahimovic said so many times, trust him completely.

did it too Walter Sabatini, sports director of the Salernitana. He arrived in January, when he was elected by the new president of the club, Danilo Iervolino. He rebuilt the team, brought Nicola to the bench and his club is fighting for a miraculous salvation, more possible than ever these days.

The manager yesterday revealed an unknown anecdote about Raiola on the social networks of the Granata entity. He wanted to do it right after his death, because before that it would have been impossible without arguing with him again. Sabatini (who worked at Lazio, Palermo, Roma, Inter, Samp, Bologna…) and Raiola have negotiated and fought a lot in recent decades, each defending their interests.

In 2018, however, the representative surprised the manager with a very nice gesture, which was made public only now. Sabatini had suffered a respiratory failure that forced him to be admitted to Rome. The tobacco destroyed his lungs and he had been dealing with this problem for years, which continues to affect him now. Raiola offered him help: “Mino, you would not have allowed me to say it when you were alive, you would have made controversy as usual”wrote Sabatini, “we fought a lot, but I cannot forget that in the moment of my serious illness, you called my wife offering to take me to the United States, paying all the expenses“. An “extraordinary, gratuitous and silent” gesture of solidarity, which the sports director will never forget: “Thank you, Mino”.