Who is Rafaela Pimenta? The woman agent behind Haaland's record-breaking Man City contract

Robin Bairner

• 17 Jan 2025 04:14 CST
• 4 min read

Rafaela Pimenta has emerged as one of football’s super agents following the death of Mino Raiola in April 2022.

Raiola was regarded as one of the game’s most powerful agents, but he died due to illness aged 54 and Pimenta inherited his agency, with clients such as Erling Haaland now represented by the Brazilian.

Several players have opted to part ways with Pimenta since Raiola's death, but a number of high-profile stars remain under her watchful eye.

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Who is Rafaela Pimenta

Pimenta was once described as “the most important person in football that nobody knows” by an unnamed Premier League director, but she has stepped out of the shadows with a profile that is only set to grow.

Born in Brazil, she had worked with Raiola for 18 years before assuming control of his agency, One.

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Pimenta was initially introduced to Raiola when working at a charity football match for the Brazilian government, and from there they struck up a strong working relationship.

Although she wasn't in the spotlight during Raiola's time as a super agent, her presence in some of the biggest deals in footballing history has been felt, with Pimenta helping secure Haaland’s big-money transfer to Manchester City in the summer of 2022.

She is now one of the most powerful agents in world football.

Who are Rafaela Pimenta’s clients?

Pimenta’s list of footballers is a formidable one, including some of the finest players in the game today.

Erling Haaland is perhaps her biggest star, with the Man City striker having excelled since moving to the Premier League from Borussia Dortmund.

Pimenta played a key role in Haaland's new Man City contract, which runs until 2034 and is set to earn him a fortune in wages.

Equally, Paul Pogba commands a huge profile, with the World Cup winner having once been the most expensive player in the world.

Other stars on Pimenta’s books include Matthijs de Ligt, Marco Verratti, Santiago Gimenez, Noussair Mazraoui, Oscar Gloukh, Andreas Schjelderup, Alphonse Areola and Henrikh Mkhitaryan.

Pimenta also represents Liverpool manager Arne Slot.

Ryan Gravenberch, Micky van de Ven, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Brian Brobbey, Justin Kluivert, Ismael Bennacer and Alessio Romagnoli are all represented by Team Raiola, although Pimenta isn't solely responsible for their transfer dealings

Successor to Mino Raiola

Pimenta has shown a willingness to fight for her clients like Raiola once did, noting the manner in which she had to fight off “lowlifes” vying for their signatures after the untimely passing of her predecessor.

“There are also a bunch of lowlifes who called the players,” she told The Telegraph.

“One called Walter Benitez the day that Mino died. And Wanda, his wife, picked up and she gave him such a tongue-lashing and said, ‘You should be ashamed of yourself.’

“Before Mino died, they called Alphonse Areola. Thousands of people called Xavi Simons, thousands of people called Erling Haaland, thousands of people called Paul Pogba.

“They called me also and said: ‘If you need help I can run the business for you.’”

What is Rafaela Pimenta’s net worth?

Rafaela Pimenta’s net worth isn’t publicly known, but given the value of transfers that she has been involved in negotiating, it will be significant - and is only expected to grow in the years ahead.