Fergie called Mino Raiola a ‘s***bag’… and agent is running rings around Ed Woodward and Man Utd again in Matthijs de Ligt transfer pursuit
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IF ONLY Ed Woodward could look at Mino Raiola and press CTRL - ALT - DE LIGT.
This money-mad agent has only recently acquired the world’s most wanted teenager, Matthijs de Ligt. Shame, that.
Manchester United are in for him on Raiola’s say-so, given a sniff of signing the Ajax defender from under the noses of Barcelona and Juventus.
He is running rings around the Red Devils’ executive vice-chairman Woodward again.
At 19, De Ligt has sidelined original agent Barry Hulshoff in favour of this brazen, abrasive transfer broker.
With Barca, Juve and United in a three-way battle for the Ajax captain, they are fodder for a man with Raiola’s skills in this area.
Only Raiola and De Ligt know which way the defender will turn next.
Woodward, under severe pressure to put things right by owners the Glazers, has no choice but to take his call.
It is a truly sad day for the sport when Raiola continues to shape and influence the modern Manchester United.
Raiola, agent to Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Romelu Lukaku and Paul Pogba, has a chequered history at Old Trafford down the years.
He exposed Woodward’s lamentable negotiating skills, emptying his pockets with the promise of a string of world beaters. Ibrahimovic, his United career cruelly cut short through injury, is the only success.
Mkhitaryan, another signed on Jose Mourinho’s watch, left for Arsenal after just 18 months.
Lukaku, 12 goals in the Premier League last season, is determined to move to Inter Milan after two poor years in a United shirt.
Pogba, re-signed for £89m by Mourinho, remains an enigma.
It was Pogba’s move, first time around, when Raiola gained notoriety in the corridors of power at Old Trafford to the extent that an exasperated Sir Alex Ferguson described him as a “s***bag”.
He gets where water can’t, turning up in the offices of managers, presidents, chief executives and chairmen, with some of the world’s best footballers in his backpocket. Raiola has added De Ligt to his roster, acquiring him from the man who helped shape this classy centre-half’s early career.
Hulshoff is a former Ajax player, a man ingrained in the ideology of Rinus Michels after winning the European Cup three times in the 1970s.
He could only take his career so far.
DE PICK OF THE BUNCH
De Ligt’s star is rising, confirmed by his assured and accomplished performances against Real Madrid, Juve and Tottenham in the Champions League.
Nothing intimidates him, nothing fazes him.
In many ways it makes him a perfect fit for Raiola’s stable but there is something alarming in the game when a young player is so quick to make a decision like this.
Woodward, for one, has never got to grips with him.
United have to show willing, to declare their hand as De Ligt prepares to make his pick of the top clubs.
He will be on his way soon enough, guided by the hand of one of the most controversial agents in the history of the sport.
As ever, Raiola will follow the money.
PLENTY of top-name managers have passed through at Chelsea but very few get to leave on their own terms.
Maurizio Sarri, wanted by Juventus, can do that after lifting the first meaningful trophy of his career.
Guus Hiddink, on speed dial whenever there was a crisis at Stamford Bridge, and Rafa Beneathus, the interim coach who left them with the Europa League in 2013, walked away with their reputations intact.
Michael Emenalo, the technical director who spent ten years in Roman Abramovich’s inner circle, is another.
The rest were shredded by the experience, with Claudio Ranieri, Jose Mourinho (twice), Avram Grant, Luiz Felipe Scolari, Carlo Ancelotti, Roberto di Matteo and Antonio Conte booted out by Abramovich.
Sarri, securing Champions League football and winning silverware in Baku, is a rare breed at Stamford Bridge.
TOTTENHAM and Liverpool could face each other again — less than 24 hours after tomorrow’s Champions League final.
Former Spurs midfielder Ryan Mason and Anfield coach Barry Lewtas are taking their Under-19s to the prestigious Terborg tournament in Holland.
Although the Premier League rivals have been drawn in different groups, they are aiming to meet in Sunday’s final.
Despite an offer from Terborg organisers for the youngsters to watch the Madrid clash together, the clubs took the sensible decision to cheer on their teams separately.
CHRISTIAN ERIKSEN has told Tottenham that his desire to move is about finishing his career in Spain.
Eriksen, 27, rejected a series of contract offers from Spurs — but it is not about the money for the mercurial Dane.
The former Ajax forward, who moved to White Hart Lane in 2013, is determined to play top level La Liga while he is still in his prime.
JACK GREALISH’S play-off partying has not gone down well with influential members of the England set-up.
The behaviour of all potential Three Lions players is monitored and logged at St George’s Park.
And that now includes video images and various tweets reflecting Grealish and his extended celebrations following Aston Villa’s return to the Premier League.
Despite rediscovering his form in a Villa shirt, Grealish has a long way to go to win over Gareth Southgate.
GLENN HODDLE was 35 years old when he left Swindon to become player-manager at Chelsea in 1993.
Ruud Gullit, also 35, succeeded Hoddle and went on to win the FA Cup in 1997.
The following year Gianluca Vialli, 33, replaced Gullit and won the League Cup, FA Cup, Cup Winners’ Cup, Uefa Super Cup and Community Shield in two-and-a-half years.
If Frank Lampard, 41 next month, is not ready to become Chelsea manager, it has nothing to do with age.