Who is Fali Ramadani? The super-agent dubbed ‘one of the most powerful in the world’

Jacque Talbot

Updated: 21 Apr 2024 16:16 BST
6 min read

Fali Ramadani keeps out of the limelight for the most part, but he is a formidable force among football agents.

He heads LIAN Sports Group as the company’s director. And from there he has amassed a huge number of talented clients.

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But just who is the elusive intermediary?

What is Fali Ramadani’s agency?

Indeed, Ramadani operates LIAN Sports Group. It’s a decent size firm, whose clientele has a collective value of €229.91 million.

What players does Fali Ramadani represent?

LIAN Sports Group has the likes of Federico Chiesa, Ivan Fresneda, Kalidou Koulibaly, Edouard Mendy, Luka Jovic, Marcos Alonso, Miralem Pjanic, Ante Rebic, as well as head coach Maurizio Sarri as clients.

The company says on its website: “Lian Sports & Partners is a leading sports management company with capabilities in all aspects of the football landscape.

“Lian Sports & Partners initially concentrated its activities in the Balkan countries acquiring highly skilled talents. The company has then expanded its sector on to the worldwide market with football players, clubs and all other leading participants in the football market on a global platform.

"The key to the success of Lian Sports & Partners are its’ highly qualified management team, its long-standing relations with decision-makers on all levels of the football world, inside knowledge of the market and most of its’ ability to maximise deals with a high creativity.”

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How good is Fali Ramadani?

Born in 1963, Ramadani stands as one of the globe's most influential agents. He is based in Berlin, according to reports, but LIAN Sports Group is registered in Ireland.

He co-founded the prominent agency alongside Nicola Damjanac. In 2019, The Economist ranked the firm as the 12th most influential agency worldwide, and among the top five solely dedicated to football.

It is also stated that, at the time, LIAN Sports Group orchestrated negotiations totalling close to €500 million in contract value, though his figure would have risen considerably since then.

© Al-Hilal - Kalidou Koulibaly is one of the top clients at LIAN

Ramadani’s focus lies predominantly on nurturing talent from Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia, and Montenegro, using his fantastic ties with clubs in Serie A. However, deals have also taken place with elite sides such as Barcelona and Chelsea, as well as the Saudi Pro League, in recent years.