Xavi Simons

navidjaan

New member

? You hope he doesnt become one of the best players in the world? Ok dude. And no, he's a calm and reserved kid. In fact he's growing a lot bigger these days (hello puberty) and is looking more nad more like a box-to-box midfielder, a la Edgar Davids who works his ass off, always in around the box but also fighting to get the ball back and is always there to receive and distribute the ball. It's called player development, but people will always think of him as a tricky little Iniesta-type of midfielder jsut because he did those things for fun at 7-a-side football. He's a great talent, but not the talent everyone think he is, people have the wrong idea of him, both on and off the pitch.
 

God Serena

New member
? You hope he doesnt become one of the best players in the world? Ok dude. And no, he's a calm and reserved kid. In fact he's growing a lot bigger these days (hello puberty) and is looking more nad more like a box-to-box midfielder, a la Edgar Davids who works his ass off, always in around the box but also fighting to get the ball back and is always there to receive and distribute the ball. It's called player development, but people will always think of him as a tricky little Iniesta-type of midfielder jsut because he did those things for fun at 7-a-side football. He's a great talent, but not the talent everyone think he is, people have the wrong idea of him, both on and off the pitch.

So what you're saying is one day we might actually have someone who can play Rakitic's position without the very structure of our team crashing so hard we get relegated twice?
 

tacticvarium

New member
It's actually good for him that the insane hype surrounding him cooled down in the past few years.
He can now just focus on his development while eveyone talks less about him.
 

BarcaOG

Banned
oh my god how does raiola manage so many players.

he's the most annoying agent in world football. singlehandedly bears a good chunk of the blame for the runaway inflation in the transfer market
 

Luftstalag14

Culé de Celestial Empire
I assume we tried to renew them. There is not much you can do when even young players are tempted by money and will go to the club with the fattest check. We can't promise every single academy star with unrealistic wages.

Loyalty means nothing these days.
 

hulinat

New member
Wasn't he literally named after Xavi and wtf do 15 year olds need agents anyway?

Raiola should be accused of pedophilia fucking fat cunt
 

Jakabor

Well-known member
oh my god how does raiola manage so many players.

he's the most annoying agent in world football. singlehandedly bears a good chunk of the blame for the runaway inflation in the transfer market

I'd want him as my agent if I was a football player.

He is great for his clients.
 

BarcaOG

Banned
I'd want him as my agent if I was a football player.

He is great for his clients.

Is he really though? I think he's a negative influence overall. Consider the following:
a) his approach is business-based, not football based. He'll place his players where they earn the most money (and where he'll earn the most commission), not necessarily where they should go to best develop their skills in the long-term.

b) the exorbitant transfer fees and salaries he demands for his players generate a lot of pressure for them to perform well. Pogba is the key example here. His massive transfer fee and wages are constantly brought up against his performances for United. And, to refer to a) again: the summer Pogba left Juventus he was wanted by United, Real and Barca. His agent placed him in United because that's where the biggest offers came from. Clearly that has not paid off for Pogba football-wise. He should never have gone to United.

c) the price tags and salaries he demands make it very difficult for his players to move clubs should they i) want to or ii) need to, to regenerate their careers. Marco Verrati should have left PSG some years ago, to start for one of the elite clubs. You can bet Raiola's demands helped prevent that. Pogba, again, is the key example. He wants to and needs to leave United, but his price tag and his massive salary are significant deterrents. That's Raiola's fault, and it is having a negative influence on his agent's football career. I emphasize football because there is no doubt he secures very lucrative deals for his players.

d) his style puts managers off. Think about the Ibrahimovic/Yaya Toure rifts with Guardiola. Sure, the players bear a lot of the blame for their fallouts with the Catalan, but Raiola's stupid comments never helped. In fact, Raiola is a key reason Yaya left Barcelona and was ostracized at City. That's not looking out for your clients; that's actively harming their careers.

So what we have is a track record of mismanaging and misplacing players, demanding so much for them that their careers fail to progress. Add to that the fact that he has had a direct hand in inflating the transfer market, and in my view only one conclusion is possible: Mino Raiola is bad for football and for his players
 

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