layers and managers aren’t the only powerful people in the football world.

These days,
certain football agents are more recognisable than the players themselves. Tasked with
negotiating big money transfers and getting the best deals for their clients, as well as
pocketing some crazy amounts of cash themselves, agents are a hugely important part of
the game. To succeed, they must be ruthless, shrewd, and determined, but who are the
most powerful agents in the football business? Read on to find out.

Jorge Mendes

Even if he’s getting older, Cristiano Ronaldo is still one of the two biggest names in
football alongside Lionel Messi, so it’s only logical that CR7’s agent, Jorge Mendes, leads
this list. Mendes, who has been voted ‘Best Agent of the Year’ multiple times at the Globe
Soccer Awards, first got into the agency business after meeting Nuno Espirito Santo in a
bar and arranging the young goalkeeper’s move to Spain. He built up an incredible
reputation over the years for scouting and spotting talent and has plenty of big names
on his books including Nicolas Otamendi, Goncalo Guedes, Ruben Neves, Ederson,
Bernardo Silva, and James Rodriguez.

Mino Raiola

Carmine ‘Mino’ Raiola is one of the most recognisable football agents on the planet and
has been involved in some of the most high-profile deals of recent years, including Paul
Pogba’s big money move to Manchester United in 2016. As well as representing the
World Cup winning midfielder, the Italian agent also represents the likes of Mario
Balotelli, Zlatan Ibrahimović, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Marco Verratti, and Romelul Lukaku.
Raiola has also got a couple of potential future superstars on his books, including Italian
keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma Dutch winger Justin Kluivert, and has developed a
reputation for doing everything in his power to get the best possible deal for his clients
every single time, much to the annoyance of many football clubs and managers.

Jose Otin

Many agents like to specialise in certain leagues or nationalities. For Spanish players
over in La Liga, Jose Otin is one of the biggest names in the business. He represents the
likes of Asier Illaramendi, Fernando Torres, Nacho Monreal, Javi Martinez, Pedro, Kepa
Arrizabalaga, Dani Ceballos, Vitolo, and many others under the umbrella of his football
agency: Bahia Internacional. Otin has experience as both a player and a pundit, so he’s
familiar with the ins and outs of the game and is a very highly respected figure in his
homeland, always ready to snap up the next Spanish star and broker some big money
moves.
Pere Guardiola

Pep might be the biggest name in football management, but his brother Pere is a
growing presence in the agency field. As part of the Media Base Sports brand, Pere
Guardiola represents the likes of Luis Suarez, William Carvalho, and Yuri Berchiche,
while also handling his brother’s contracts too. Representing the most in-demand
manager in the game is a big job in and of itself, but Pere’s agency has managed to sign a
lot of exciting young talent in recent years too including Man City’s Brahim Diaz and Real
Betis’ Junior Firpo, so we can expect to see Pere become a bigger player in the agency
world as time goes by.

Sports Entertainment Group (SEG)

As we’ve seen in the Nations League and at club level, the Dutch seem to be making a
major comeback after a disappointing few years, with a lot of exciting young stars and
established older players forming a very strong pool of talent. SEG is the leading name in
terms of talent-spotting in the Netherlands, having signed up the likes of Lyon winger
Memphis Depay, Inter Milan defender Stefan de Vrij, and Marseille midfielder Kevin
Strootman. The likes of Daley Blind, Quincy Promes, and Jasper Cillessen are also on
SEG’s books, and the agency has got some very promising young footballers tied down to
contracts too including Ajax attacker Kasper Dolberg.

Giuliano Bertolucci

Despite some struggles at international level in recent years, Brazil remains one of the
best footballing nations on the planet, with a seemingly never-ending list of young
talents springing up on the streets of Rio every single year. Giuliano Bertolucci is one of
the top men for identifying those potential future superstars and tying them down to his
agency: Euro Export Assessoria E Propaganda Ltda. Some of the biggest names on his
books at the moment include PSG centre back Marquinhos, West Ham winger and
playmaker Felipe Anderson, and Chelsea’s veteran defender David Luiz. Bertolucci has
enjoyed a great relationship with Chelsea in particular, helping them sign the likes of
Ramires, Oscar, and Willian over the years.

Volker Struth

The main man for German talent, Volker Struth has a long list of high profile clients
including Toni Kroos of Real Madrid, Marco Reus of Borussia Dortmund, and Reus’
teammate, Julian Weigl. One of the biggest deals in Struth’s career came in 2014 when he
orchestrated the move of Kroos from Munich to Madrid. The German super-agent has a
real knack for fishing out young talent before anyone else and actually signed up a
teenage Mario Götze before anyone had really heard of the youngster. Struth went on to
make Götze the most expensive German player in history before the pair’s working
relationship ultimately came to an end.

Unique Sports Management

There are a few big names when it comes to agents and agencies in the English game,
but Unique Sports Management is definitely leading the pack by a long way at the
moment. The number one name on their list is Harry Kane himself, who could easily
command a world record fee if ever he decides to move on from Tottenham. Recent
England debutant Callum Wilson is another player signed up with Unique Sports
Management, with Fulham’s teenage sensation Ryan Sessegnon and Crystal Palace
winger Wilfried Zaha also being tied to this agency. Jamaal Lascelles, Pedro Obiang, Tom
Cairney, and Aaron Cresswell are a few other notable names on the list.

Jonathan Barnett

Founder and chairman of Stellar Group Limited, Jonathan Barnett is one of the most
successful agents of all time and has excelled in multiple sports, including boxing and
cricket, but has really made a name for himself in footballing circles. He was the man
behind Gareth Bale’s headline-grabbing £86 million move from Spurs to Real Madrid in
2013. For that move alone, Barnett pocketed around £14 million. Since then, he’s also
engineered moves for many of his other high-profile clients like Luke Shaw, Gylfi
Sigurdsson, and Adam Lallana. The likes of Joe Hart and Grzegorz Krychowiak are also
on Barnett’s books, giving his agency a good mixture of talents from many different
countries.

Lian Sports

One of the fastest growing agencies in football, Lian Sports has an astonishing list of
talent to rival the biggest names in the business, with more and more established
players and rising stars being added each year. This agency specializes in the Serie A,
with some of the Italian league’s top stars like Miralem Pjanic and Kalidou Koulibaly
being signed up with Lian Sports. Croatian superstar Ivan Perisic is another big name on
the list, alongside Chelsea’s prolific left-back Marcos Alonso. Some exciting young talents
are also being managed by Lian Sports like T