Erling Haaland Hails Mino Raiola as 'Best Agent in the World'

Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland has hailed Mino Raiola as the ‘best agent in the world’ after picking up the 2020 Golden Boy award.

Haaland was presented with the prestigious prize ahead of Barcelona prodigy Ansu Fati and Bayern Munich left-back Alphonso Davies as a result of scoring 33 goals in 32 appearances for Dortmund over the last 12 months. But the 20-year-old Norwegian insists his agent deserves a lot of the credit.

Haaland has enjoyed a meteoric rise, having only become a regular starter for Red Bull Salzburg at the beginning of last season. He had previously shown promise from the age of 15 in Norway’s lower divisions, before stepping up to the top flight with domestic giants Molde.

With Manchester United and Juventus both interested in snapping up the generational talent, Raiola played a significant role in arranging a €20m transfer to Dortmund last January.

The step up from Austrian football was potentially a challenge, but Haaland hit the ground running in Germany and scored 16 times in his first 18 appearances for Dortmund. In the first half of this season, he has averaged more than a goal per game.

Raiola is a divisive figure in the world of football and has long been the subject of much criticism, especially with regard to his handling of Paul Pogba’s future at Manchester United. But Haaland couldn’t think more fondly of him.

“He is the best agent in the world. He’s been helping me so much, I want to continue to work with him,” the player said at the Golden Boy ceremony.

But it wasn’t just Haaland praising Raiola, as he was presented with his own award by Tuttosport, who oversee the Golden Boy judging, for best agent in Europe.

Haaland will soon have been at Dortmund for 12 months, but his future is already the subject of speculation as top clubs eye a player who could soon become the world’s best goalscorer.

Manchester City are the latest to join the list of clubs showing interest and were recently described as ‘ready to move’ as they make a new striker a priority signing for 2021.

Haaland is thought to have a release clause in his Dortmund contract worth €75m, which could prove to be a bargain given his age, existing talent and future potential. But it will not become active until 2022, meaning any club wanting to sign him sooner may have to pay substantially more.

As for the player himself, he doesn’t seem particularly keen on packing his bags again so soon.

“I'm happy at Borussia Dortmund. I've spent a great year with [Lucien] Favre and I want to thank him,” Haaland explained, following the Frenchman's sacking at BVB boss.

That echoes similar comments he made about his future in June, saying at that time: “I live in the present. I have just arrived in Dortmund and I am not thinking of leaving for now.”

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