Pini Zahavi

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Pinhas "Pini" Zahavi ( Hebrew פנחס "פיני" זהבי, * 1955 in Nes Ziona ) is an Israeli players' agent in the field of professional football .

Zahavi became known for his involvement in the changes in ownership of Chelsea FC and Portsmouth FC and for his work as a players' agent, especially in the - for the time - record transfer from Rio Ferdinand .

Zahavi is a licensed player agent by the Israel Football Association based in Tel Aviv .

Life and career in journalism

Zahavi was born in Nes Ziona, the son of a shopkeeper who sold building materials to local artisans. He has two older sisters and one brother.

After leaving university, he worked as a football journalist. He worked for the Israeli newspapers Hadashot Hasport, Jedi'ot Acharonot and Hadashot.

Zahavi negotiated his first contract in 1979, the transfer of Israeli defender Avi Cohen from Maccabi Tel Aviv to Liverpool FC . As a sports journalist, he built up a network of contacts in the 1980s. In 1998 he gave up his job as a journalist and negotiated his second contract the following year. That marked the beginning of his career as a players agent. He also continued by organizing friendly matches for national teams in Israel, inviting players such as Graeme Souness and Kenny Dalglish to vacation in his villa in Eilat or by giving oranges at the Liverpool training ground in Melwood as gifts for players and staff the development of close ties in the world of football continued.

Career as a player agent

First transfer contracts

Zahavi's first transfer agreement came into being in 1979, he helped in the transfer of Israeli defender Avi Cohen from Maccabi Tel Aviv to Liverpool for 200,000 pounds sterling . Zahavi, who traveled regularly to England to watch football matches, recommended Cohen when he met Liverpool FC manager at the time, Peter Robinson, at London Heathrow Airport during a flight delay caused by fog. The player knew Zahavi from his coverage of Maccabi Tel Aviv in Jedi'ot Acharonot . Zahavi was paid a commission for his share in the creation of the contract.

A year later, Zahavi arranged a loan move for the player Barry Silkman from Manchester City to Maccabi Tel Aviv. Business relationships later developed between him and Zahavi when Silkman himself became a players' agent.

In 1990, Zahavi negotiated the transfer of another Israeli player, striker Ronny Rosenthal , from Standard Liège to Liverpool. At the time, Kenny Dalglish was coaching Liverpool.

Rio Ferdinand

Zahavi had meanwhile built up a complex network of contacts in English football. His friendships included not only Graeme Souness and Dalglish, but also Terry Venables , Ron Atkinson and Alex Ferguson , as well as many more from the next generation of coaches and players.

In 1997, Zahavi negotiated the transfer of Israeli midfielder Eyal Berkovic from Southampton FC to West Ham United . Zahavi's connection with Berkovic was already responsible for his move from Maccabi Haifa to English football in Southampton, then coached by Zahavi's friend Graeme Souness.

As a side effect of the West Ham negotiations, Zahavi came into contact with Rio Ferdinand . Zahavi negotiated the transfer in 2000, which took Ferdinand from West Ham to Leeds United for £ 18million , and his £ 30million transfer from Leeds to Manchester United in 2002 . As part of the deal, it was agreed that Zahavi himself would receive £ 1.13 million.

Zahavi was friends with Manchester United coach Alex Ferguson, he had already met him in the late 1980s, and at the time of the Ferdinand transfer he was responsible for brokering almost all of Manchester United's big business, including sales from Jaap Stam to Lazio for £ 16.5m and the commitment of Juan Sebastián Verón from the same club in 2001 for £ 28.1m. Juan Sebastián Verón had been signed for Lazio by another friend of Zahavi's, Sven-Göran Eriksson , whom he knew as a young Benfica coach .

Roman Abramovich and Chelsea

2003 Zahavi played an important and central role in the takeover of Chelsea by Roman Abramowitsch and the subsequent access of players. Zahavi became an influential member of Abramovich's inner circle and it has been estimated that he made £ 5m out of the £ 111m Chelsea spent on players that summer.

In 1998, Zahavi was introduced to Abramovich in Moscow by a mutual friend, who in turn was able to introduce him to Trevor Birch, the managing director of the heavily indebted Chelsea, which was on the verge of not being able to pay its players' wages. Abramovich had previously considered buying Manchester United and then Tottenham Hotspur .

Disputes over illegal enticement attempts

Ashley Cole

In 2005 the British Football Association (FA) recommended an investigation by the relevant authorities into Zahavi's role in illegal poaching attempts of left defender Ashley Cole , who was under contract with Arsenal and who, contrary to Premier League regulations , was contacted by Chelsea .

The independent commission to investigate the incident, appointed by the Premier League following an official complaint from Arsenal, concluded that Zahavi and Cole's agent Jonathan Barnett had issued an invitation, which Chelsea had accepted. Zahavi and Barnett were then present at the Royal Park Hotel in London on January 27, 2005 when Cole met with Chelsea's trainer José Mourinho and managing director Peter Kenyon .

Chelsea, Mourinho and Cole were fined for their part in the incident, Barnett was ordered to pay £ 100,000 and his license was suspended by the FA for 18 months, later reduced to 12 months. Neither the FA nor the Premier League had jurisdiction over Zahavi's actions, but the case was brought to FIFA , whose investigation was still ongoing in October 2009. Zahavi continued to deny any wrongdoing, claiming she was not representing Chelsea or Ashley Cole at the time.

Rio Ferdinand

In April 2005, Zahavi denied that Chelsea had been involved in any illegal activity involving Manchester United player Rio Ferdinand. The player met Zahavi and Peter Kenyon, the manager of Chelsea, in the Carpaccio restaurants in Chelsea and again a few hours later in the Elysee Greek near Tottenham Court Road . Chelsea dismissed any illegal activity despite the fact that Sir Alex Ferguson, then Manchester United manager, accused Kenyon of being contemptuous of his former club. Zahavi denied that the meetings were an attempt to put pressure on Manchester United to change the contract offered to Ferdinand.

Portsmouth

The beginnings of the connection and the yakubu transfer

Zahavi came in connection with the possession of Milan Mandarić located Portsmouth . He worked on signing Eyal Berkovic and Yakubu from Maccabi Haifa, an association owned by Zahavi's school friend Ya'akov Shahar , in April 2003 , and was involved in Collins Mbesuma's move in August 2005.

In July 2005, Zahavi agreed with Keith Lamb, Middlesbrough's general manager, a fee of £ 3.64 million for his part in transferring Yakubus from Portsmouth to Middlesbrough . The sum was to be paid in ten installments over five years if Yakubu stayed with the club. The amount was the highest fee for a players agent that had become known in English football up to that point and was perceived as exceptional.

Part of the contract was a payment by Zahavis to Barry Silkman for recognizing Yakubu's potential in Nigeria and for the player's $ 500,000 transfer to Maccabi Haifa in 1999.

Takeover of Alexandre Gaydamak

In January 2006, Zahavi and his partner assisted in the sale of Portsmouth to Alexandre Gaydamak . In 2005 Zahavi had already assisted in the sale of Beitar Jerusalem to Gaydamak's father, the Russian-Israeli businessman Arcadi Gaydamak .

Zahavi worked on numerous deals for the new owners of Portsmouth, including bringing Avram Grant to the club and initially serving as technical director in June 2006, then signed a two-year contract as a scout for £ 800,000 and was involved in the Engagement and at the sale of multiple players.

When Portsmouth filed for bankruptcy in February 2010 after several changes of ownership and came under administration, Zahavi was one of 24 agents to whom the club owed nearly £ 9 million. His own claims totaled £ 2.074 million.

Further business relationships

With his friend and partner, businessman Eli Azur , Zahavi is a co-owner of a media company, Charlton, which owns the Israeli television rights to major sporting events such as the English Premier League and Israel's top football league . The company's decision to broadcast the 2006 World Cup via pay-per-view was very unpopular in Israel, boycotting the offer and damaging Zahavi's reputation in the country.

Zahavi is also involved in the HAZ Racing Team, one of the top motorsport teams in Argentina (the "Z" in HAZ is derived from his last name).

Private

Zahavi is a widower and father of two children. He lives in a seaside apartment in north Tel Aviv and has an apartment to rent in Marble Arch in London. He is the great-uncle of the soccer player Alex Zahavi .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h i Jamie Jackson: Profile: Pini Zahavi, football's first and only super-agent. In: The Observer . November 26, 2005, archived from the original on January 24, 2016 ; accessed on June 2, 2018 .
  2. ^ A b Andy Hunter: 'Mr Fix-it' trusted by top clubs' executives. In: The Independent . June 16, 2007, archived from the original on September 6, 2010 ; accessed on June 2, 2018 .
  3. ↑ Player's agent's list authorized by the IFA. (PDF; 69.0 kB) In: football.org.il. Israel Football Association, accessed June 2, 2018 (Hebrew, English).
  4. ↑ a b c d e f Jonathan Wilson: From journalist to sports Svengali. In: Financial Times . June 16, 2007, archived from the original on June 4, 2008 ; accessed on June 2, 2018 .
  5. ↑ David Bond: The Man Selling Rio. In: Evening Standard . July 19, 2002, archived from the original on October 12, 2012 ; accessed on June 2, 2018 .
  6. ^ A b Tom Bower: The go-between who oils wheels for Abramovich. (No longer available online.) In: Daily Mail . September 13, 2003, formerly in the original ; accessed on July 27, 2010 (English).  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.thefreelibrary.com .
  7. ↑ a b c David Conn: How Zahavi made contact sport an art form and became English football's kingmaker. In: The Guardian . January 17, 2007, accessed June 2, 2018 .
  8. ↑ a b c David Bond, Jonathan Northcroft, Ian Hawkey: Pini plots world domination. In: The Sunday Times . July 13, 2003, accessed on July 27, 2010 (English, link to article in InfoTrac National Newspapers Database [login required]).
  9. ^ Leeds ready for place among elite. In: BBC . November 22, 2000, accessed June 2, 2018 .
  10. ^ David Conn: Why transfers and transparency still do not mix. In: The Guardian . February 4, 2009, accessed June 2, 2018 .
  11. ↑ Vyacheslav Belash: One oligarch's story. In: Kommersant . November 11, 2004, archived from the original on October 12, 2012 ; accessed on June 2, 2018 .
  12. ↑ a b Rick Broadbent: Zahavi: from humble beginnings to multimillionaire power broker. (No longer available online.) In: The Times . June 16, 2007, formerly in the original ; accessed on July 27, 2010 (English).  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.timesonline.co.uk
  13. ^ Steve Curry: How soccer's Mr Fixit brokered the deal between Chelsea and billionaire oil man. In: Daily Mail . July 3, 2003, accessed July 27, 2010 (English, link to article in InfoTrac National Newspapers Database [login required]).
  14. ↑ a b The full judgment on Cole affair. In: BBC . June 1, 2005, accessed June 3, 2018 .
  15. ↑ a b Cole's agent handed FA suspension. In: BBC . September 26, 2006, accessed June 3, 2018 .
  16. ^ Cole's agent Barnett loses ban appeal. In: ESPN . December 1, 2006, archived from the original on October 23, 2012 ; accessed on June 3, 2018 .
  17. ↑ Barnett Decision. In: TheFA.com. September 26, 2006, archived from the original on March 26, 2012 ; accessed on June 3, 2018 .
  18. ^ Matt Scott: Carry on investigating at Fifa. In: The Guardian . October 13, 2009, accessed June 3, 2018 .
  19. ↑ David Bond: Fifa closing in on Zahavi. In: Daily Telegraph . September 29, 2006, accessed June 3, 2018 .
  20. ^ Graham Brough, Darren Lewis: Rio & The Chelsea Chief: The Head Hunters; Tapping up fear No2 as United's Ferdinand is spotted in dramatic meeting at restaurant. In: Daily Mirror . April 13, 2005, accessed June 3, 2018 .
  21. ^ Burt Jason: Two meetings but Ferdinand is innocent, says his agent. In: The Independent . April 19, 2005, accessed June 3, 2018 .
  22. ^ A b c David Conn: Pini Zahavi, the agent with his finger in many Portsmouth pies. In: The Guardian . March 30, 2012, accessed June 3, 2018 .
  23. ^ David Conn: £ 3m - Zahavi's fee for taking Yakubu to Boro. In: The Guardian . January 17, 2007, accessed June 3, 2018 .
  24. ↑ Football's gone mad when an agent can earn £ 3m in one deal. In: Daily Mail . January 20, 2007, accessed June 3, 2018 .
  25. ^ David Conn: Gaydamak masters the game with no rules. In: The Guardian . January 11, 2006, accessed June 3, 2018 .
  26. ^ Shaul Adar: Zahavi suffering as Israel boycotts pay-per-view World Cup channel. In: The Guardian . June 6, 2006, accessed June 3, 2018 .
personal data
SURNAME Zahavi, Pini
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Zahavi, Pinhas; פנחס "פיני" זהבי (Hebrew)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Israeli players agent (soccer)
DATE OF BIRTH 1955
PLACE OF BIRTH Nes Ziona