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Candidness in the world of agents is an incredibly rare thing. It is practically a vocational mandate that they hold their cards close to their chests, only speaking of what gives them a professional advantage. Yes, they will talk about their players, but only to laude their ability and potential in order to drive up the price of the next transfer. Agents talk as if the world is their audience, because they never know who might be listening.
That is what makes Mino Raiola’s interview with La Gazette dello Sport so intriguing. It is one of the rare instances that laying down the unequivocal truth is part and parcel of creating a professional advantage. Mario Balotelli is the subject of conversation, and it is hard to tell if that is surprising or not.
In his interview, Raiola says his decision to allow Balotelli to leave Manchester City for AC Milan was “one of the biggest mistakes of [Raiola’s] life.” That he made his decision with his heart and not his head, because he sympathized with Mario needing his friends and mother in Italy. He goes on to say that Balotelli is misunderstood (Ok, it’s not all ground breaking). And he describes Balotelli as insecure, and that those insecurities have lead to outrageous behavior.
All of that, however, is nothing compared to this:
"This period with Liverpool is the biggest lesson he has had. He's applying himself a lot now and his private life has calmed down too. It's not worth asking if Liverpool are the right club for him any more -- they are the only club for him…[I told him that] you've got a four-year contract here and I'm not taking you anywhere else. Either you leave Liverpool for 60-70 million euros, and I win my bet, or you will die there.”
They’re the only club for him.
Or you will die there.
You just don’t hear that from an agent. Ever. Especially in an interview. Yet it is impossible to deny that this is exactly what needs to be said.
Balotelli is an amazing player. He has single handedly beaten Germany, and is capable of scoring goals like this and this. But he has also been known to set his house on fire with fireworks, and justify his actions to police officers by saying “because I am rich.”
He is in danger of never realizing his full potential, and like a teenager on the brink of doing the same, he is being teated with the unequivocal truth. Raiola is trying to save Balotelli’s career, and in the process he hopes to benefit his own. It is heartening to see that the truth still has some utility.
No one deserves to see the talent of Balotelli wither away and die at the age of 24, most of all Balotelli himself. The rare occasion of Raiola’s candidness needs to turn into happy ending that is rarer still: Balotelli turning his career around, for good.
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