$1.4bn in contracts: The highest-earning agents in world soccer

In the world of soccer, the players are not the only multi-millionaires in the game. When footballers move from one club to another, the transfer fees exchanged between the clubs are usually in tens of millions or sometimes, hundreds of millions. The world record for transfer fees current stands at €222m that PSG paid for the transfer of Neymar from Barcelona. 

When these transfers are made, there are agents who facilitate the deals and act as liaison between the player, the selling club, the buying club, and any other parties that might be involved e.g. family members, former clubs/academies. These agents often become powerful because the deals rest on them and they can decide if a player would move to a club or not and for how much. This is why they are paid millions of pounds for their services and are often times signed up to contracts of their own. We will look at the Top 3 highest-earning agents in soccer.

Jonathan Barnett - $1.4bn

Relatively unknown but the biggest mover amongst soccer agents, Jonathan Barnett is a very influential figure. The 71-year-old became famous for being Gareth Bale's agent that secured his then World record move to Real Madrid. Now, Barnett has the British transfer record holder, Jack Grealish as his most popular client. Other players under Jonathan Barnett are Luke Shaw, Jordan Pickford, Ben Chilwell and Patrick Bamford, Eduardo Camavinga, Saul Niguez, Ibrahima Konate, Kieran Tierney, Jeremy Doku and Wojciech Szczesny.

Jorge Mendes - $991m

The man behind the incredible transfers of Cristiano Ronaldo. Jorge Mendes is a very popular agent in South America and Europe. The Portuguese agent has extensive reach in both continents that most deals happening between both continents go through him. Mendes has the likes of Ruben Dias, Bernardo Silva, Joao Cancelo, Ederson, Fabinho, Renato Sanches, Angel Di Maria, James Rodriguez, and manager Jose Mourinho on his contact list.

Mino Raiola - $847m

Most Manchester United fans, including Sir Alex Ferguson, love to hate Mino Raiola. The Italian-Dutch agent is a fierce and sharp-talking agent that is quick to talk about his clients. Some of United's best players including Paul Pogba, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Romelu Lukaku all share Mino Raiola as their agent.