Photo Gallery Agent Profiteer
Well-paid players mean well-paid agents. Three years ago, Welsh striker Gareth Bale transferred to Real Madrid for a fee of 101 million euros. His agent, David Manasseh, ensured that the agency he works for, Stellar Group, received a commission of 16,373,000 euros for its part in the transfer.
Mino Raiola has been in the football business for over 20 years and has a client base that includes superstars like Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Paul Pogba and Mario Balotelli. In negotiations with Borussia Dortmund, he inserted a clause guaranteeing himself a hefty fee should his client Henrich Mchitarjan be transferred -- and a hefty fee should he not be transferred.
Henrich Mchitarjan, pictured here, was ultimately sold to Manchester United for around 42 million euros. His agent Raiola received a commission of 2.5 million euros as part of the deal.
In 2013, Real Madrid was also interested in acquiring Ilkay Gündogan, but his club, Borussia Dortmund, refused to sell. One year later, the star player extended his contract with Dortmund in a deal that made his father, who acts as Gündogan's agent, a rich man.
Roger Wittmann's agency Rogon represents German national team player Julian Draxler. In 2013, Draxler signed a contract extension with his team FC Schalke 04 which guaranteed Wittmann a commission of 15 percent of any transfer fee should Draxler be sold to a different team.
In August 2015, Draxler, pictured here, was sold to VfL Wolfsburg for around 36 million euros. As a consequence of the deal, Roger Wittmann's agency received 5.4 million euros.
Volker Struth, from Cologne, is one of Germany's elite agents. His company Sportstotal takes care of the business affairs of German national team players Marco Reus and Benedikt Höwedes. He also represents Toni Kroos, whose contract extension with Real Madrid guaranteed Struth a commission of 5 million euros by October 2018.
For an agent, landing a player like Kroos is akin to a defender firing in a goal from 30 meters out: It requires a bit of luck. For years, Kroos has been improving as a player, as has the money that can be earned with him.
Konstantin Liolios represents Karim Bellarabi, who plays for Bayer Leverkusen. In negotiating Bellarabi's contract extension in October 2014, Liolios made 11 telephone calls, wrote two emails and a letter and was part of nine personal meetings. For his efforts, Liolios earned 3.5 million euros for his agency KL Sportsbase in addition to 495,000 per year for the duration of Bellarabi's contract, which runs through mid-2020.
Karim Bellarabi, pictured here, re-signed with Leverkusen in October 2014. His team keeps thorough records of its dealings with agents and requires them to detail the amount of work done on behalf of the players they represent.
