Pini Zahavi Net Worth: Pinhas “Pini” Zahavi is an Israeli football agent who was born on 24th August 1943, His name in Hebrew is written as פנחס “פיני” זהבי. He was born in Ness Ziona, Israel.
Zahavi’s offices are in Tel Aviv.
Zahavi was involved in the change of ownership of Chelsea and Portsmouth and for his work as a football agent, especially the (at the time) record-breaking transfer of Rio Ferdinand.
Pini Zahavi Net Worth & Wiki
| Full Name | Pinhas ‘Pini’ Zahavi |
| Occupation | Sports Agent |
| Age | 80 (as of 2023) |
| Date of Birth | August 24, 1943 |
| Place of Birth | Ness Ziona, Israel |
| Zodiac Sign | Virgo |
| Nationality | Israeli |
| Net Worth | $ 1.1Million |
Pini Zahavi Early Life
Zahavi was born in Ness Ziona, Israel on 24th August 1942, to a family of Jewish background. He is the son of a shopkeeper who sold building materials to local tradesmen. He has two elder sisters and a brother.
Zahavi’s Wife & Children
Zahavi is a widower with two children. He lives in a seaside apartment in the north of Tel Aviv and rents a flat in Marble Arch, London. He is the great-uncle of footballer Alex Zahavi.
Pini Zahavi Career
Zahavi began a career as a football journalist after dropping out of university. He worked for the Israeli newspapers Hadashot Hasport, Yedioth Ahronoth, and Hadashot.
Zahavi negotiated his first deal in 1979, the transfer of Israeli defender Avi Cohen from Maccabi Tel Aviv to Liverpool. As a sports journalist, he built up a network of contacts throughout the 1980s.
He gave up his job as a journalist in 1998 and negotiated his second deal the following year.
This marked the beginning of his career as an agent and he continued to develop close ties in the football world by organizing friendly internationals in Israel, inviting players, including Graeme Souness and Kenny Dalglish, to holiday at his villa in Eilat, and even taking oranges to Melwood, Liverpool’s training ground, as a gift for players and staff.
Pini Zahavi Clients
Currently, Pini Zahavi’s clients include players like Robert Lewandowski, Christopher Nkunku, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Alex Telles, Julian Weigl, etc.
Pini Zahavi Career As a Sports Agent
Here are some of his deals as a sports agent:
First Transfer Dealings
Zahavi’s first transfer deal was undertaken in 1979 when he helped arrange the transfer of Israeli defender Avi Cohen from Maccabi Tel Aviv to Liverpool for £200,000.
Zahavi, who traveled to England regularly to watch football, recommended Cohen to Liverpool when he saw Peter Robinson, the then secretary of the club, at Heathrow airport during a flight delay caused by fog.
The player got to know Zahavi through his coverage of Maccabi Tel Aviv in Yedioth Ahronoth. Zahavi was paid an introduction fee for his part in the deal.
A year later, Zahavi arranged a loan move to Maccabi Tel Aviv for Manchester City player Barry Silkman, with whom Zahavi would later be associated with when Silkman became a football agent.
In 1990, Zahavi negotiated the transfer of another Israeli player, forward Ronnie Rosenthal, from Standard Liège to Liverpool. Kenny Dalglish was by then Liverpool’s manager.
Rio Ferdinand
By this time, Zahavi had built an extensive network of contacts within English football.
His friendships included not just Graeme Souness and Dalglish, but also Terry Venables, Ron Atkinson, and Alex Ferguson, as well as many more among the next generation of managers and players.
In 1997, Zahavi negotiated the transfer of Israeli midfielder Eyal Berkovic from Southampton to West Ham United.
Zahavi’s association with Berkovic had already been responsible for the player’s move from Maccabi Haifa to English football at Southampton, then being managed by Zahavi’s friend, Graeme Souness.
A side effect of the West Ham deal was that it brought Zahavi into contact with Rio Ferdinand.
Zahavi handled the transfer that took Ferdinand from West Ham to Leeds United for £18 million in 2000, and then his £30 million transfer from Leeds to Manchester United in 2002. As part of the deal, Zahavi was himself paid £1.13 million.
Roman Abramovich and Chelsea
In 2003, Zahavi played an important and central role in Roman Abramovich’s acquisition of Chelsea and in the influx of players that followed.
Zahavi became an influential member of Abramovich’s inner circle and was estimated to have earned as much as £5 million from the £111 million that Chelsea spent on players that summer.
In 1998, Zahavi had been introduced to Abramovich in Moscow by a mutual friend and so was able to provide an introduction when he was approached by Trevor Birch, the chief executive of the heavily indebted Chelsea, who were on the verge of being unable to pay their players’ wages.
Pini Zahavi Net Worth
What is Pini Zahavi’s net worth?
Pini Zahavi net worth is $1.1 million as of 2023. This figure includes all of the value of his property and other assets.
His income vs net worth correlation index is 0.5, and he is currently ranked #3 in the category of Sports Agents. The net result is that Pini Zahavi is one of the most popular and wealthy sports agents in the world.
Pini Zahavi Social Media Accounts
Zahavi is active on a few social media accounts.
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Facts About Pini Zahavi
- Zahavi is currently ranked #3 in the sports agents category
- He is the great-uncle of footballer Alex Zahavi.
- His net worth is estimated at $1.1 Million.
- Zahavi was involved in the change of ownership of Chelsea and Portsmouth and for his work as a football agent, especially the (at the time) record-breaking transfer of Rio Ferdinand.
- His Zodiac sign is Virgo
- Mino Raiola is his co agent.