Top 10 most influential football agents

Published at :April 17, 2024 at 3:55 PM

Modified at :April 17, 2024 at 3:56 PM

The agents hold a lot of influence in the transfer market

Football agents are the backbone of the player transfer business in the world of football. They orchestrate transfer dealings, player wages, negotiations, contract renewals and more. Their role is instrumental to the workings of the footballing business and their clientele gives them a lot of influence on the transfer market.

These football agents are hired by players of all statures to act as intermediaries between them and football clubs, facilitating negotiations over potential moves and lucrative contracts. They have a major say in where a footballer makes his next move because of their advisory role.

The football agents also play a key role in bringing in sponsors for their clients/players which gives them a lot of bonuses and fees in return. As the role of agents continues to play a central role in the off-field aspect of football, here is a look at the top 10 most influential agents who dominate the dealings in the world of football:

Kia Joorabchian

Iranian-born Kia Joorabchian has a strong network in England and Europe. His clientele includes players like Phillipe Coutinho, Douglas Luiz, Joshua Zirkzee, Sergio Reguilon, Willian and more.

Pere Guardiola

Pere Guardiola, brother of world-class manager Pep Guardiola, is a businessman and a reputed sports agent. He is the chairman of Girona FC. He works for the Sports Entertainment Group, one of the leading agencies based out of the Netherlands which represents Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag and other major football personalities.

Casey Wasserman

Casey Wasserman is the owner of Wasserman – the global football agency that represents elite football talent. Some of the world’s top footballers such as Federico Valverde, Alejandro Grimaldo, Nathan Ake, John Stones, Curtis Jones and more are represented by Wasserman Agency who have an approximate market value of €1.79bn.

Federico Pastorello

Federico Pastorello founded the P&P Sport Management S.A.M. agency that overlooks the interests of top footballers such as Hee-chan Hwang, Alex Meret, Arthur Melo, Neal Maupay, Demarai Gray and more.

Stefano Castagna

Stefano Castagna is regarded as one of the most prominent agents in the world of football. He works with the AIS agency that looks after talents such as Luiz Felipe, Emerson Royale and other prominent footballers.

Volker Struth

Volker Struth, the head of the Sports360 agency, is one of the most reputed football agents, particularly in Germany. His agency includes world-class players like Niklas Sule, Timo Werner, Fabian Schar Toni Kroos and more.

Pini Zahavi

Pini Zahavi is one of the most popular football agents out there who holds a major influence. He owns GoI International agency that takes care of personalities like Hansi Flick, Christopher Nkunku, Jonathan Tah, Sean Longstaff, Yannick Carrasco, Alex Telles and several other major figures in football.

Rafaela Pimenta

Rafaela Pimenta, a former lawyer, is one of the few women in the business who are considered heavily influential. With players like Erling Haaland, Matthijs de Ligt, Marco Verratti, Kasper Dolberg and more in her list of clients, it is no wonder she holds major influence in the transfer market after taking over from Mino Raiola, who passed away aged 54.

Jonathan Barnett

Jonathan Ian Barnett is a British football agent. He is the founder and chairman of ICM Stellar Sports Agency. Players like Saúl Ñíguez, Ben Chilwell and more are some of the clients managed by ICM Stellar Sports. Furthermore, Barnett was the mastermind behind Gareth Bale’s multi-million-pound move from Tottenham Hotspur to Real Madrid.

Jorge Mendes

Jorge Mendes is downright the most influential agent in the world of football. Few individuals have a bigger influence than the super agent who managed Cristiano Ronaldo at one time. His current clientele includes figures like Joao Felix, Ruben Dias, Bernardo Silva, Darwin Nunez, Pedro Neto, Matheus Nunes, Diogo Jota and more. His hold on the Portuguese football talent is unmatched.

Managers like Jose Mourinho, Nuno Espirito Santo, Sérgio Conceição etc are also managed by Gestifute, an agency led by Mendes.

For more updates, follow Khel Now on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram; download the Khel Now Android App or IOS App and join our community on Telegram.