Stefano Pioli’s agent has explained how he ended up as the head coach of Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr having left AC Milan at the end of last season.
Valerio Giuffrida – together with his brother Gabriele and their agency GG11 – was one of the most active agents during the last summer transfer window, given they boast the likes of Albert Gudmundsson, Maduka Okoye and Hamed Traoré as clients.
The brothers are also involved the intermediation of big names such as David De Gea, Artem Dovbyk and Vitinha who made moves during the mercato that ended a few weeks ago. When the dust settled after deadline day, they negotiated Pioli’s move to Al Nassr in the Saudi Pro League.
In an exclusive for TMW, Valerio Giuffrida explained how a rather surprising move came to fruition, one that sees him now managing Ronaldo, Sadio Mane, Marcelo Brozovic, Otavio, Aymeric Laporte, Mohamed Simakan and Bento.
“When we thought we were on vacation, in early September, the first contacts with Al Nassr began. To tell the truth, they are not the first Saudi club we have spoken to this summer,” he said.
“When Hierro and Pioli spoke, they also found each other both empathetically and from a technical and sporting perspective, because they are two profoundly similar people. The negotiation was very simple and fast because on both sides there was no doubt that it was the right choice.”
What the agent is likely referring to is that a move to Al-Ittihad appeared to be a done deal for Pioli, but then the will of Karim Benzema apparently caused a U-turn.
