Jordan feuds with Raiola over Man Utd and ‘culture of division’

Joe Williams
Mino Raiola

Simon Jordan has hit out at Paul Pogba’s agent Mino Raiola over “creating a culture of division” after the agent sent out an “inflammatory” tweet over his client’s situation at Manchester United.

Raiola responded negatively to comments from Man Utd boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who remarked that “Paul is our player and not Mino’s” before their 2-0 victory over Chelsea on Monday.

Gary Neville has since urged Man Utd to stop dealing with Raiola, which the agent has also responded to via talkSPORT.

16 Conclusions: Chelsea 0-2 Man United

And while discussing various topics surrounding Pogba on the radio, he also got involved in a heated discussion with former Crystal Palace chairman Jordan.

Here’s the full transcript from talkSPORT:

JORDAN: Mino, I’m listening to you and I’m trying to understand… you made an observation about journalists talking about players moving and that it’s a centre of attention, but journalist don’t move players, agents move players…

RAIOLA: I don’t think agents move players.

JORDAN: Of course you do Mino, that’s what you do, that’s your modus operandi, that’s how you get paid. You move players.

RAIOLA: No, that’s not what we do. I represent players, that’s different from moving them. To move a player, if you’re right that players are owned by clubs, then I cannot move a player without permission from the club.

JORDAN: But you can create division, can’t you. You create a culture of division. If you create a culture, both you and the player, that a player doesn’t want to be at this club anymore then there is really only one transaction: when he goes, how much you get paid and how much he gets paid.

RAIOLA: Listen Mr Jordan, that’s the case here. It’s not a question of Paul wanting to move, Paul is only committed to Manchester United and the European Championship. After that we will sit down with the club and see what the club wants.

JORDAN: But why is ‘no comment’ not the better comment?

RAIOLA: Yeah, but what is the matter if I have a comment to make?

JORDAN: Because it’s not about you Mino! It’s about the player and Man United. You’re incidental; you only work for the player.

 

RAIOLA: I agree, I agree, it’s not about me.

JORDAN: But you tweeted, Mino. You tweeted at a very divisive time. Why is it about you? Why are you making it about you?

RAIOLA: No, no, no, no, no.

JORDAN: You are! You put a tweet out that is inflammatory, you know it’s inflammatory, you are hitting back becasur you want to make a point If a player wants to make a point, he makes that point. So why does he need you to put a tweet out about what Solskjaer said? Why are you getting involved? Why are you inserting yourself in the centre of this?

RAIOLA: Because it was about me, Mr Jordan, it was not about Paul.

JORDAN: No, it’s about Man United asserting their right having paid £90m for a player – of which you got a lot of, that’s the business you’re in and whether I like that or not is incidental -but they’ve paid for that right. You haven’t earned that right, you get paid by the player, so why are you able to comment on the business of Man United? I don’t understand it Mino, I don’t understand what you’re trying to create. You’re not creating a happy culture, you’re creating a divided one.

RAIOLA: I don’t agree. I don’t create any culture over the last years. But I don’t need to defend myself here, the only need to explain it to is my player.

JORDAN: In the long game you guys will do, because if FIFA get a hold of you guys and start regulating you properly…

RAIOLA There is no problem of being regulated here Mr Jordan, I think you are now mixing up things.

Jordan: No, you should be regulated, you should be capped on your fees and you could contribute financially to the wellbeing of football, there’s a bigger picture here.

RAIOLA: That’s your opinion.

JORDAN: Well it’s a good opinion and it’s the opinion of most people who are sensible, not you guys, you and Jonathan Barnett and whoever else.

RAIOLA: Well, Mr Jordan, maybe everything should be capped, maybe transfers should be capped, maybe sponsor money should be capped, but we live in a free society, we live in a capitalist world, we don’t live in a communist world.

And by the way, Mr Jordan, saying a club can pay £90m for a player’s services is not correct, the club pays £90m as an amenity to break a contract. That’s the transfer. They don’t buy a player, they don’t buy a human being…

JORDAN: Oh you’re being pedantic! Man United have every right, if you pay for something you have a sense of entitlement over it and in that contract period, in the four years they have him they are able to say he is there’s.

RAIOLA:  So in your businesses you own your employees? They are owned by you?

JORDAN: This is very different, I don’t pay £90m to buy an employee! Don’t be absurd! In the business of football he’s an asset. He’s a paid-for asset of the club.

JIM WHITE: A relevant question here is Man United fans want to know why it seems you and Pogba don’t respect Man United as you should.

RAIOLA: Those are your words Jim. There is absolutely no way of me or Pogba not Man United. They are your words and they are not correct, Jim.