Mino Raiola has provided an update on Mohamed Ihattaren. The players’ agent indicates that he has had no contact since the Sampdoria midfielder indicated in mid-November that he was switching to agent Ali Dursun. Raiola is concerned for his former client, admits during the broadcast of Studio Football at the NOS. The agent also discusses in a nutshell the status of Ajax’s contract negotiations with Ryan Gravenberch and Noussair Mazraoui.
“I don’t think Mazraoui will leave during the winter break,” Raiola said. “It is a difficult situation, but nothing is excluded. There are differences of opinion about the financial status.” The right back has an expiring contract with Ajax, but for the time being he has not come any closer to a new agreement with the club. The name of Gravenberch, which is still under contract until mid-2023, is also being reviewed. “Whether Gravenberch will extend at Ajax? There is currently no talk about extending,” Raiola says briefly.
Presenter Sjoerd van Ramshorst then asks about the developments around Ihattaren. “How is Mohamed Ihattaren doing now that he has run away? Well, he didn’t run away. Everyone is free to leave, because they are not prisoners, are they. So I hope he finds himself again and above all that he finds the happiness to play football again. I no longer have contact with him. I am also concerned, yes.”
“Look, you can’t like someone very much, want to be really nice to someone, and then think that someone is a jerk if they make a different decision,” Raiola continues. “I do not think so. He’s having a hard time. The mental side is often not discussed in a discussion, and you have to be careful about that. I just hope he finds his way back with his new team and his new environment. He’s a fantastic footballer and a fantastic boy and I hope he ends up well.”
Ihattaren currently seems to be working with a personal trainer in Utrecht. BestPersonalSportskills shared a photo on Instagram last month in which the nineteen-year-old attacking midfielder poses with owner Jordy Best. At the moment, Ihattaren is still under contract with Sampdoria, which rents him from Juventus until mid-2022.