Raiola, the man who never bit his tongue: His most controversial comments

Mino Raiola was a genius and instantly recognisable figure.

The super-agent, who passed away on Saturday at the age of 54, never bit his tongue and was behind some quotes that are well remembered in the world of football. A man of character, he never shied away from dialectical confrontation.

Raiola's duels with Guardiola

The relationship between Mino Raiola and Pep Guardiola was strained since Zlatan Ibrahimovic left Barcelona with the Catalan coach then in the dugout.

"Pep, the coach, is fantastic," Raiola told the Mirror.

"As a person, he is an absolute zero. He is a coward, a dog."

"[Johan] Cruyff and Guardiola should go to a mental hospital together, shut up and sit down and play cards," Raiola said at another point.

Raiola on Balotelli

Mario Balotelli was one of the players he represented. The Italian striker, who is always at the centre of constant controversy, also took some stick from Raiola.

"I've got the solution: I'll cut out his tongue," Raiola said.

Raiola on Klopp

Jurgen Klopp received another verbal dart from Mino Raiola for his treatment of Balotelli during his time at Liverpool.

"At the end of the day, Liverpool officials admitted that Klopp was unfair," Raiola explained.

"I'm not going to judge him as a coach, although for me he is a great tactician, but I don't think he realised that we are talking about a person.

"Mario was exemplary; he never complained when he had to train alone. It goes without saying that Klopp was unfair: he was a piece of sh*t."

Raiola on Barcelona

Barcelona were also the target of his sarcasm over Ibrahimovic's situation during his time at the club.

"I have no respect for a club that has not respected one of my players," the super-agent stated.

Raiola on the Italian national team

At times, he also showed no mercy for the Azzurri. Raiola's passion for his country's national team was too much for him.

"We have an Italian team that is disgusting, very weak, that has no idea what to do," Raiola declared.

Raiola on FIFA

"This is like a communist dictator telling the people what to do at all times," Raiola claimed.

"The people have already realised what he is. The opposition is frontal and transparent. We are working with the Swiss association because we want to fight it from here, from Switzerland, where FIFA is."

Raiola on Ibrahimovic and Donnarumma

It's not all confrontations, though, as Raiola was not afraid to dish out praise, like the phrase he said about Zlatan.

"Ibrahimovic is like the Gioconda [Leonardo da Vinci's painting of the Mona Lisa]," Raiola said.

The same happened with another of the players he represented, Gianluigi Donnarumma.

Of the Italian goalkeeper he said he was "beautiful like a Modigliani," referring to the work of the painter and sculptor.