“La Mano Negra” : revelations on the world football

In a book exciting, fast-paced as a thriller and based on documents explosives and novel, the French journalist Romain Molina takes us behind the scenes of world football, between the Russian oligarchs and the secret services, false transfers and real commissions, investment funds and tax havens, “agents of gold” in brazil and the hub of uruguay, cocktails, poisoned and helicopter accidents, charter flights of prostitutes and rails of cocaine. Welcome to The world of Mano Negra !

“there are more of omertà in football, as in the mafia,”

In this investigative book fascinating, the young French author Roman Molina (author of Galerius Football Club , Generation Parker and biographies of Unai Emery and Edinson Cavani) traces the journey of several characters who exert a decisive influence on the mid-round ball without the general public never hear about them. In the utmost discretion, officers, ” super-agents “, intermediaries, advisors and the oligarchs are playing their own game.

Of Pini Zahavi, ” the most powerful man in world football “, in Juan Freeze, the dean of the agents in the world, The Mano Negra draws the portrait of these men that will redraw the map of world football to suit their interests and those of their friends. “The football is being held hostage by some people and this goes well beyond the stratum financial. If money is one of the important features of this system, the power, the circles of influence are strongest, ” says the author. “There are more of omertà in football, as in the mafia. It is a world of secrets and unspoken. “Espionage, geopolitics, money laundering, corruption, dead bodies, terrorism : the beautiful game is no longer a game but an industry. And like any industry, it attracts men in the shadows and raises his own deviances, also disorders that creative.

Pini Zahavi, the boss

Pini Zahavi is neither more nor less than the red wire of The Mano Negra. Unknown to the general public, yet it is the most powerful man in world football. Former israeli journalist, the businessman, is the origin of the transfer of the century, that of Neymar to Paris Saint-Germain in the summer of 2017. Over the course of the investigation, it is found all over the place. “This is not an agent in the classical sense of the term, he has, in fact, very few players directly. But he is in control of the clubs, he advises presidents, oligarchs, politicians, diplomats… Through his companies, he owns the TV rights, organizes sports betting, and provides loans to clubs ! Specifically, he is the real boss. “

More than an agent, Pini Zahavi, to the origin of a number of agreements incalculable, is a mentor. “It is he who has formed the 90% of super-agents. Even Jorge Mendes was his student. Agents him accountable. If Pini is on a folder, person does it. “The influence of Pini Zahavi goes beyond the borders of football. “He is a real character in a novel, whose life would deserve to be brought to the screen. “

PSG, “embassy of Qatar”

On August 3, 2017, the PSG realize the biggest transfer in football history. The capital club pays out € 222 million to engage the services of Neymar, for a contract of 5 years. Beyond the sporting interest and marketing the arrival of crack cocaine for 25 years in Paris, “there is a reason geopolitical clear,” says Roman Molina. The goal of Qatar is simple : bring in Neymar, it is to focus all the media attention. The next day, the media attention is more focused on the charges of funding islamic terrorism by Qatar, but on arrival at PSG engineering brazilian. “The transfer of the century was not an end in itself, it was a means. It was fundamental to Qatar which was in need of a big shot. For them, it was also a question of survival of a State. In this case, it far exceeds the football. “

Become a policy instrument is decisive, the football is now plagued by vested interests distinct from that of mere sporting aspect. Roman Molina advises and lovers of football to watch PSG with the eye of Qatar, because we must not forget that Paris is the only club in the world to have two branches : one in Paris and one in Doha. “PSG is the best embassy of Qatar abroad. The PSG is a tool of geopolitics. Since Qatar has the PSG, it has become connected, globalised world. Doha has become almost a destination in trend. “

The dangerous liaisons between football and terrorism

Born in Moscow in 1946, Boris Berezovsky, aka Dr. Evil, is a mathematician, member of the Russian Academy of sciences. Having escaped several times in assassination attempts, he is one of the men behind the re-election of Boris Yeltsin in 1996 and the ascent to power of Vladimir Putin. Big fan of football, it will invest later than in the beautiful game, always opaque, while having his own dressing room at the Emirates, the stadium of Arsenal. Eminence grise of the Kremlin, Boris Berezovsky has also served as the ” banker informal groups wahabbites in Chechnya, including the members of the network of Osama bin Laden.”

referring to the works of the american journalist of Russian origin, Paul Klebnikov, Roman Molina assures us : “Boris Berezovsky has played an important role in the development of the international jihad, by funding networks of osama bin Laden in Chechnya until the end of the 1990s. “The funding of islamist networks in Chechnya and the resumption of the conflict in the region should in particular be used to promote the accession to the Russian presidency of the former KGB colonel Vladimir Putin, determined to be sufficiently reliable not to stir too much or the shady dealings of the oligarchs and of the entourage of president Yeltsin. Funding of islamist networks based more on the interests of domestic policy Russian on ideological reasons. And, Boris Berezovsky, one of the key men of ” the looting of Russia by the time of the administration of president Yeltsin “, has been one of the main instigators of the arrival of president Putin to power with the complicity of islamist networks.

The Football Leaks, “off-topic”

he considers the approach to be beneficial, Romain Molina asks first about the provenance of this information and of who benefits from their implementation on the day. “Robins wood, of morality, I don’t believe that “, lance-t-il of assertive. For the journalist, reducing the football to a simple interest eligibility is a serious mistake : “football is an industry very low, which does not generate a lot of money if you compare it to oil, gas, CONSTRUCTION, or insurance… The media exposure is inversely proportional to the income generated. In fact, the money can not be the only driving force of the war. “Also, analyze the revelations of the Football Leaks through the simple prism financial,” this is off-topic “. “Studying football like any other business, it is not to understand what really is football and its importance in our world,” he concludes.

“Mano Negra, these dark forces that control the world football” by Romain Molina, published by Hugo Doc, 300p., 17€.