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Before Jorge Mendes or Mino Raiola, there was Jon Smith. His agency, First Artist, represented more than 400 clients – including Diego Maradona and the England team. Smith was football’s first super-agent.
His book, The Deal, is part-memoir, partexposé on how football agents make – and justify – their money, the machinations of transfer deadline day, and negotiating with the game’s most influential people.