Unfortunately, Aidy Ward is just the latest in a long and continually growing line. Agents have become the bane of so many football clubs over the last decade, we almost shouldn’t be surprised at his constant underhand tactics and blatant disregard for anyone but himself.
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Liverpool transfer news
Indeed, as long as he gets his money, he probably doesn’t care where Raheem Sterling is playing his football next season. Why should it matter to him if the Liverpool fans are upset or if the papers are constantly talking about him, as long as he gets his cut, he’ll be happy.
Football is full of these notoriously shady figures these days and the Sterling saga says a lot about everything that’s wrong with modern-day football. In the list below (brought to us via The Metro), we take a look at some of the most notoriously frustrating agents on the planet, many of whom are no doubt grinning in appreciation at Mr. Ward’s latest efforts.
10) Barry Silkman
Has become known for getting deals done, often not getting involved until the final moments of a transfer. David Villa, Demba Ba and Ravel Morrison are among his list of clients and the former midfielder is fairly well respected.
9) Cezary Kucharski
Robert Lewandowski is the most notable client of this former Poland international. He was involved in a long transfer saga between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, with the player eventually moving when his contract with the latter expired.
8) Jerome Anderson
He initially came to prominence looking after the likes of Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp at Arsenal. His most controversial moment came in 2006 when he broke a pre-contract agreement with Manchester United for his client John Obi Mikel, who instead joined Chelsea.
7) Pini Zahavi
Zahavi became heavily invested in Chelsea’s transfer dealings after the Blues were taken over by Roman Abramovich. Several of his deals were investigated for alleged corruption while he was also involved in a failed takeover at Portsmouth. His most famous client however is Carlos Tevez.
6) Tim Hager
Yann M’Vila, Mamadou Sakho, Antoine Griezmann are currently on his list of clients. The former has been at the centre of a number of transfer storms over recent years, while his WB Sportmanagement agency have proved notoriously difficult to deal with.
5) Mino Raiola
The mastermind behind Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s incredible career, which has included spells at Barcelona, both Milan clubs and Paris Saint Germain. Mario Balotelli and Edinson Cavani are also on his list of clients, so it’s easy to see why he’s made a lot of money in his career.
4) Jonathan Barnett
Shot to fame by helping launch Lennox Lewis’ career in boxing. However, he hit the headlines in far more unfortunate circumstances in 2006. He was involved in the ‘tapping up’ scandal involving Ashley Cole and his move from Arsenal to Chelsea. He also works with Gareth Bale.
3) Pere Guardiola
The brother of Bayern Munich manager Pep Guardiola. He is the agent for Luis Suarez and will subsequently bring back a lot of dark memories for Liverpool fans, including the scandalous £40m and one pound bid from Arsenal for his services in 2013. He eventually helped his client move to Barcelona last summer.
2) Paul Stretford
The man behind Wayne Rooney, who twice came close to joining Manchester City before subsequently signing a new contract. He dared to take on Sir Alex Ferguson and arguably won the battle, helping his client become one of the highest paid players on the planet.
1) Jorge Mendes
Cristiano Ronaldo, Luis Nani, Angel Di Maria and Victor Valdes are all on the books of Mr. Mendes, who can boast some of the highest transfer fees and highest wages in the world. He masterminded Radamel Falcao’s simply ridiculous switch to Manchester United last summer and sealed James Rodriguez’s move to Real Madrid.
