Pini Zahavi

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Pini Zahavi (born in Ness Ziona, Israel) is a football agent who has been involved in some of the most expensive (and controversial) transfer episodes of the last decade.

His sports career began when he was a writer for the Israeli tabloid Yedioth Ahronoth and the contacts he made in that position helped him to establish himself when he changed career to become an agent.

[edit] Business deals

He helped facilitate the takeover of Chelsea Football Club by Russian businessman Roman Abramovich, and the takeover of Portsmouth Football Club by French businessman Alexandre Gaydamak.

Transfers he has brokered include:

Rio Ferdinand to Manchester United, July 2002, £30m
Juan Sebastián Verón to Manchester United, July 2001, £28m
Yakubu Aiyegbeni to Middlesbrough, July 2005, £7.5m

The Yakubu deal is reported to earn Zahavi a potential £3m fee, the largest ever disclosed in English football.

Clients he represents include:

Rio Ferdinand
Eyal Berkovic

Zahavi is co-owner of Charlton, a media company which holds the rights to show many major football tournaments in the Israel.

[edit] Controversy

After a takeover of Chelsea, former owner Ken Bates described Zahavi as a 'dickhead'. Zahavi responded by saying:

This revolting character is not worthy of a response. If I was in his shoes I would wake up every morning praying to God and thanking him that Pini Zahavi saved him from bankruptcy and put £19million in his pocket. He is history as far as English football is concerned.

—Pini Zahavi

In 2005 the English Football Association recommended that Zahavi be investigated for his part in the Ashley Cole 'tapping-up' affair. He was also present when then-England manager Sven-Göran Eriksson met with Chelsea owner Abramovich; Eriksson later issued a statement denying his meeting was for business reasons.

The Israeli public protested when many important games in the 2006 FIFA World Cup were shown only on a pay-per-view basis.