Dubai: Giovanni Branchini, a leading footballers' agent, who has handled portfolios of the likes of Ronaldo (Brazil) and Romario, still finds the job of ‘placing' an youngster more challenging than the established stars.
"While negotiating for an upcoming player, one has to keep in mind that it should be a strategic decision whereby the player stands to gain in the long term. The stars, on the other hand, are spoilt for choice," he said.
Speaking on the sidelines of the Dubai International Sports Conference, Branchini told Gulf News that contrary to the general perception that the agents are cut-throat pros only interested in their commission, they have a "duty" to make the right choice on behalf of the players.
"There are occasions when after picking up a player at the age of 16 or 17, you are associated with him for a period of same number of years till his retirement. The relationship then becomes personal — ask [Dmitri] Albertini, now vice-president of Italian Football Federation or [Roberto] Donadoni, the ex-Italy coach, with whom I have enjoyed such ties," Branchini said.
Talented bunch
Now the vice-president of European Football Agents Associations (EFAA), Branchini is a been there, done that kind of a personality in his own field.
Having been in the business for over two decades, he had represented a big assortment of talented champions like Careca, Jean Pierre Papin, Rui Costa, Clarence Seedorf, Hidetoshi Nakata in Italian football apart from the two Brazilians mentioned above.
Asked to recall any special anecdotes on his ‘clients', Branchini came up with one on Ronaldo: "The unique thing about Ronaldo was even at that age, he was a very clever boy. When he left Barcelona to join Inter Milan at the peak of his career, anybody else would have suffered a major dilemma about leaving the Spanish giants but not him ... and it did turn out to be the right decision."
On the rising players' fees — a topic which dominated the conference — Branchini said the agents were in no position to dictate terms on that.
