‘Always in my heart’: Man United star Pogba shares an emotional video of his late agent Raiola

Paul Pogba has paid an emotional tribute to agent Mino Raiola, who died on Saturday in an Italian hospital after battling illness.

The Manchester United midfielder changed his profile picture on Instagram to one of him with the super-agent.

And Pogba then tweeted an emotional video of pictures of the pair accompanied by the caption: “Always in my heart. Thank you Mimi.”

Agent Mino Raiola with Man United star Paul Pogba (R) and former team-mate Henrik Miktarian

One of the biggest deals overseen by Raiola was Pogba’s return to Manchester United from Juventus for a then world record fee of £89million in 2016. 

It was reported that Raiola earned as much as £20m from the transfer.

Born in Italy, Raiola grew up in the Netherlands before becoming one of the most powerful soccer agents in the world, with clients including Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Erling Haaland and Pogba. 

Forbes estimated last year that Raiola’s personal wealth was in the region of £62m. 

The midfielder tweeted an emotional video of pictures of him with the super-agent

Raiola – who also represents Marco Verratti, Matthijs de Ligt and Gianluigi Donnarumma – was previously in hospital at the start of 2022 due to an undisclosed issue.

Raiola had very delicate surgery in January but the nature of the illness was not specified. 

Reports said at the time the condition was not life-threatening and Raiola would begin a period of rehabilitation at home – only for him to return to intensive care in recent weeks.

There were then reports on Thursday in Italy that he had passed away, but some of his industry colleagues were left confused by the reports, having been in contact with the 54-year-old, and it soon emerged they were premature.

Raiola has overseen some of the most lucrative transfers in world football in recent years

It was announced on Saturday afternoon that Raiola, who underwent an operation back in January and became critically ill this week, passed away after battling a serious illness.

‘In infinite sorrow, we share the passing of the most caring and amazing football agent that ever was,’ the statement published on Raiola’s official Twitter account read.

‘Mino fought until the end with the same strength he put on negotiation tables to defend our players. As usual, Mino made us proud and never realised it.

‘Mino touched so many lives through his work and wrote a new chapter in the history of modern football. His presence will forever be missed.’

High-profile super agent Raiola died on Saturday at the age of 54 following an illness

The super agent’s family confirmed his passing in a statement released on social medi