He now lives in Monte Carlo and speaks seven different languages

Not many people can tell Zlatan Ibrahimovic to 'go and f*** himself' and get away with it.

Mino Raiola did and went on to engineer moves to several of Europe's biggest clubs for one of the world's best strikers, establishing himself as a so-called super agent along the way.

Here, Sportsmail looks at the man behind some of the biggest deals in world football.

It was in his father's pizzeria that Carmine 'Mino' Raiola learned his trade.

Born in Salerno near Italy's Amalfi Coast, he grew up 1,200 miles away in Haarlem, Holland having moved with his parents in 1968 when he was a year old.

His father, previously a mechanic, opened first a sandwich shop then the pizzeria which would expand into a chain of more than two dozen restaurants. The secret to their success was the use of authentic Italian products and Raiola, his grasp of the Dutch language better than his father's, acted as chief adviser, negotiating with buyers.

Mino Raiola pictured with Zlatan Ibrahimovic's wife Helena at a Paris Saint-Germain match last year

Raiola has been involved in transfers worth in excess of £400m as a football agent

Away from the hustle and bustle of the restaurant, Raiola spent two years at law school without graduating, and also had a spell in the youth side at local team HFC Haarlem.

Every Friday night, the club's president would eat with the family and Raiola would offer tips on how he should run his business. Eventually, the president made him a sporting director at the age of 19 but his stay was short-lived after he grew frustrated with the other board members.

From there he joined Sport-Promotion, the agency owned by Rob Jansen, which looked after several Dutch stars. At the time, players had to be sold for a price based on their age but Raiola claims to have exploited a loophole in order to overhaul the system.

The agency looked after the international interests of all Dutch players and Raiola was involved in the deal that took Dennis Bergkamp and Wim Jonk from Ajax to Inter Milan for a combined fee of £10.4million in 1993.

He also helped broker the moves of other Dutch players to Italy including Bryan Roy, Marciano Vink and Michel Kreek before leaving the company to branch out on his own, starting the first of three companies, Intermezzo.

His first coup as a solo agent was to facilitate Pavel Nedved's move from Sparta Prague to Lazio for £1.2m following an impressive showing for the Czech Republic at Euro 96. The midfielder would go on to join Juventus for £25m five years later, again under the watchful eye of Raiola.

Raiola was involved in the deal that took Dennis Bergkamp from Ajax to Inter Milan in 1993

Raiola's first coup as a solo agent was helping take Pavel Nedved (left) from Sparta Prague to Lazio

FIVE OF RAIOLA'S BIG DEALS Year Player Clubs Fee 1993 Dennis Bergkamp Ajax-Inter £7.1m 2001 Pavel Nedved Lazio-Juventus £25m 2009 Zlatan Ibrahimovic Inter-Barcelona £56.5m 2010 Robinho Man City-Milan £15m 2010 Mario Balotelli Inter-Man City £24m

Priding himself on his ability to read the transfer market, Raiola has used three clubs in particular to move his players; Ajax, AC Milan and Paris Saint-Germain. Over the years he has facilitated the transfers of, among others, Maxwell, Mido, Robinho, Mark van Bommel and Urby Emanuelson.

But no player has come to define Raiola as much as Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who has played for each of the aforementioned clubs, commanding transfer fees of £130m.

As is his style, Raiola approached Ibrahimovic through an intermediary, in this case a Dutch journalist who described Raiola as a 'mafioso'. He had previously attempted to make contact through his Ajax team-mate Maxwell but it was to Ibrahimovic's cocky attitude that Riaola responded with his 'f*** himself' dismissal. Eventually, Ibrahimovic succumbed and agreed to meet the agent at the Okura Hotel in Amsterdam.

Arriving in his Porsche and wearing a Gucci jacket, the Swede watched in shock as Raiola entered the sushi restaurant in jeans and a T-shirt. 'Was he supposed to be an agent, that weirdo?' Ibrahimovic writes in his autobiography. 'And then when we ordered, what do you think they brought us? A few pieces of sushi with avocado and prawns? We got a massive spread, enough to feed five people, and he started stuffing himself.'

Ibrahimovic was stunned when Raiola rattled out a list of strikers and their goal tallies. 'Christian Vieri 24 goals in 27 games, Filippo Inzaghi 20 goals in 25 games, David Trezeguet 20 goals in 24 matches,' he said, before concluding: 'Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored five goals in 25 games. Do you think I can sell you with a statistic like that?'

Raiola's star client is undoubtedly Zlatan Ibrahimovic, a player he has looked after since he was at Ajax

Raiola facilitated Ibrahimovic's move to Juventus from Ajax for a fee of £11m in 2004

Ibrahimovic went on to play for Inter Milan, Barcelona and AC Milan, moving for huge transfer fees

Ibrahimovic is currently playing for Paris Saint-German along with several of Raiola's other clients

Raiola pressed on and convinced Ibrahimovic not to chase the money but rather success and that fame and fortune would follow. He even convinced him to hand over his keys to the Porsche and swap his designer clothes for tracksuits. 'I had been too pleased with myself, thinking I was all that,' Ibrahimovic writes. 'But it was the wrong attitude. It was true that I hadn't scored enough goals and I'd been too lazy. I hadn't been motivated enough. I was realising that even more, and began to give everything I had in training and matches.'

Raiola's methods may seem questionable, but they worked. He would tell Ibrahimovic that he was 'nothing' and 's***' and in response his client pushed himself so hard in training he almost made himself sick.

'I entered a new phase and felt stronger than I had for a long time,' he says. 'I gave everything I had on the pitch, and now I started to dominate. I gained self-confidence, and posters started appearing – 'Zlatan, the son of God,' that sort of thing. People shouted my name. I became better than ever, and of course it was terrific.'

Ibrahimovic and Raiola continued to have a tempestuous relationship, however. Following a defeat by Utrecht in August 2004 in which Ibrahimovic was substituted by manager Ronald Koeman, he phoned Raiola to vent, shouting, 'F*** you. I want out of here.' By the time he was accused of injuring his club team-mate Rafael van der Vaart in an international match 10 days later, a move to Juventus was in the pipeline and Ibrahimovic was sold for £12m. And over the next six years, the striker would move to Inter (£20m, 2006), Barcelona (£56.5m, 2009), AC Milan (£24m, 2011) and PSG (£15.7m, 2012).

Ibrahimovic introduces Raiola in his book as his 'agent, friend and adviser' and later describes him as a 'genius'. Even his dad keeps newspaper clippings about his son's outspoken agent, of which there are presumably many.

Raiola (right) with his star client Ibrahimovic, who has been sold for transfer fees totalling £130m in his career

Raiola with AC Milan director Adriano Galliani in 2010 as he negotiated Ibrahimovic's move from Barcelona

Now 47, Raiola lives near the casino in Monte Carlo with his wife and two children. He claims he is on the road for more than 300 days of the year, checking in with his players by telephone and keeping a trained eye on the transfer market. He rarely attends matches in person, preferring instead to watch on television.

There is no trace of his first company online. There is no placard among the dozen or so businesses where his third, Sportman, is registered in Monaco. Indeed, Raiola claims he works alongside only his personal assistant and his lawyer. He speaks seven languages (Dutch, English, German, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Neapolitan) and learned English by watching Disney films.

Having enjoyed success from such a young age, however, Raiola has said he feels he missed out on the adolescent phase of his life.

Raiola lives near Casino Square in Monte Carlo with his wife and two children

Italy's midfield maestro Andrea Pirlo describes him as 'legendary' and a 'world- class operator' but also says he would sell his own name to close a deal. In his book, Pirlo recalls the agent being asked by a journalist how to pronounce his surname. Raiola responded: 'Whatever you want, just as long as you pay me.'

The man himself insists his interests lie solely with his players and not in making money and distances himself from comparisons with Jorge Mendes, agent to Cristiano Ronaldo, Jose Mourinho and James Rodriguez.

But taking care of his players has meant crossing swords with some of football' s biggest names. Earlier this year, he took a swipe at Bayern Munich manager Pep Guardiola over his treatment of Ibrahimovic at Barcelona, claiming he is a 's****y person but a great coach'. In the space of a few months three years ago, he labelled Johan Cruyff a 'senile b******', Sepp Blatter a 'demented dictator' and Michel Platini 'incompetent'. Last month, Ajax manager Frank de Boer hit out at the agent after he suggested the club's latest young star Ricardo Kishna should leave the club.

Raiola with Italy striker Mario Balotelli in Milan

Although Raiola claims Ibrahimovic can play on for another decade, until he is 43, it is his younger clients who require the most attention, namely Paul Pogba and Mario Balotelli.

The former's move from Manchester United to Juventus in 2012 caused consternation at Old Trafford, particularly with Sir Alex Ferguson who accused him of lacking respect. Ferguson also reserved criticism for Raiola who he claimed was 'difficult' to negotiate with.

According to former Chelsea striker Pierlugi Casiraghi, who had a spell working at Inter, Pogba's then agent was struggling to keep Ferguson at bay and called on Raiola to ensure the player engineered a move away. Pogba was offered to Inter and Milan before settling on Juventus. Raiola now compares the Frenchman with a Van Gogh and believes he will command a fee of 100m euros (£74m) should he leave Turin.

But it is with Balotelli that Raiola faces perhaps his biggest challenge. Still only 24, the Italian striker has already played for Inter, Manchester City, Milan and Liverpool, commanding fees totalling more than £60m. His career has been littered with off-the-field controversies but Raiola, who admits supporting Balotelli's move back to Milan was the worst decision of his career, continues to defend his client.

'Of all the players I knew I've never met one forced to face the injustices suffered by Mario,' he says. 'People don't know him but the truth is that Mario is an insecure boy, and it's down to his insecurity that maybe he does stupid things.'

It was Ibrahimovic who alerted Raiola to Balotelli's talents when he was at Inter, describing him as a 'phenomenon who does what he wants with the ball'. Despite meeting with the striker, it would be another two years before he represented him. Raiola's promise to Balotelli that he would win three Ballon d'Or trophies now looks rather hollow, however.

At first glance, it appears that Raiola deals only with controversial or egotistical footballers. But he is quick to point out the names of Etienne Capoue, Blaise Matuidi and Gregory van der Wiel among a clientele of almost 40, players who don't generate the same headlines as Ibrahimovic or Balotelli.

In total, he has been involved in transfers worth more than £400m.

In January, Raiola announced his intention to stand against Blatter for the top job in world football, a move that ultimately came to nothing.

From humble pizzeria to FIFA president? Somehow, you wouldn't put it past him.