At times it feels as if agents are the real decision-makers in football, and certainly when they have a client that they want to end up somewhere, the names at the top of the game in agency have a habit of getting their way with the footballers at the top of the game. That is the intention for Pini Zahavi this summer, although in this case with a manager.
Zahavi was at the heart of Barcelona’s pursuit of Robert Lewandowski, which ended in success, and his relations with the Catalan side and in particular President Joan Laporta go back to 2003. The Israeli secured a right to negotiate with David Beckham initially, and ended up bringing Rustu Recber into the club that summer as a ‘favour’, say Relevo. They reference that L’Equipe cite Zahavi as a key part of the Neymar Junior move to Paris Saint-Germain, where he reportedly earned €12m in commission too.
The same report goes on to highlight his determination when it comes to his objectives, and this summer, Zahavi’s goal is to get Hansi Flick into the Barcelona hotseat this summer. The German coach did not have an agent before Zahavi, but hired him order to increase his chances of being appointed, aware that he has close relations with Laporta.
Zahavi was present during Barcelona’s win over Getafe at the end of February, and met with Laporta during the week, although Roberto de Zerbi’s representation has also met with Barcelona in recent weeks.
Recent reports suggest that neither de Zerbi nor Flick are the preferred appointments for the two leading the recruitment process, Laporta and Sporting Director Deco. Zahavi may face competitition from another agent too in Jorge Mendes, who has even closer ties with the Blaugrana.
