Star consultant Mino Raiola has revealed disputes and subsequent reconciliations with the bosses of Borussia Dortmund Hans-Joachim Watzke and Michael Zorc.
Mino Raiola’s career beginnings in Haarlem: door, table, transfer market
With Watzke, Raiola would once have had a “quarrel, really big argument”, as he did at Sport1 reported, without going into detail: “But we respect each other anyway. Why shouldn’t we be allowed to argue? I would even call Watzke a great friend. And I don’t say that often. When we negotiate and argue, it has nothing to do with it personal. I really appreciate him. He does what is best for his club and I for my players. “
Meanwhile, there would have been “a violent argument about Henrikh Mkhitaryan” with Zorc. Mkhitaryan played for Dortmund from 2013 to 2016 before moving to Manchester United. Today the 32-year-old Armenian plays for AS Roma. “I can get very loud when it comes to my boys. I had a very bad relationship with Zorc, really, really bad. He must have really hated me. I never thought that hatred would become friendship. He has my maximum respect . He defends his club to the point of blood. The negotiations with him have been persistent. “
According to the consultant, it was “Zorc’s credit” that Raiola’s client Erling Haaland is currently playing at Dortmund. To explain his move from Salzburg to Dortmund in January 2020, Raiola used a car analogy: “If you have the choice between a Mercedes S63 AMG or an Audi RS6, that’s difficult, isn’t it? Both are good cars. Before the decision was made by Erling at the time. And Zorc clearly demonstrated the advantages of his S63 AMG over the RS6. He sold the club in such a way that Erling said: ‘I see myself there. Here I can develop.’ “
Mino Raiola on the future of Erling Haaland
Dortmund “had the balls back then to fetch someone like Erling, who is still quite unknown, but still costs a lot of money”. In the foreseeable future, however, Haaland will probably take the next career step. “We have clear ideas about where Erling should go,” said Raiola. According to information from SPOX and GOAL, Haaland tends to move to Real Madrid. “We can influence the market with a player like Erl. It is not the market that influences us. We know that.”
Meanwhile, Raiola praised the development of German football: “In the past, German football was just: running and fighting. Now there is play and magic. Look at players like Florian Wirtz or Jamal Musiala, that’s great. Germany also has many great coaches like Ralf Rangnick, Jürgen Klopp or Thomas Tuchel. That is due to the German mentality. The technical directors have also gotten better. “
According to Raiola, he likes “the German way. It comes closest to me. I’m very German. I’m very orderly and disciplined. The German manner suits me.” When asked which German manager he prefers to do business with, Raiola replied: “I enjoy negotiating with Max Eberl. He’s a great manager. But Bayern Munich are of course well positioned.”
