Jonathan Ian Barnett (born 28 January 1950) is a British football agent and is the chairman and founder of ICM Stellar Sports.[1] In 2019, he was named the number-one most powerful sports agent in the world, according to Forbes.[2] He is credited as being the man who brought Lennox Lewis into the boxing world.

Career

While Barnett's first client was cricket player Brian Lara, he has made a name for himself since then representing some of the world's best football players. His client list includes Jack Grealish, Gareth Bale, Saul Niguez, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Jordan Pickford. He masterminded the £86 million move of Bale to Real Madrid from Tottenham Hotspur.

Barnett's agency is now the fourth-biggest sports management agency in the world and number one in football.[3]

Controversy

In 2006, Barnett was banned by the Football Association (FA) for 12 months and fined £100,000 for arranging secret rendezvous between his client Ashley Cole and Chelsea F.C. representatives.[4]

Personal life

Barnett is Jewish and is member of St John's Wood synagogue.[4] He is married and has three children. He is a supporter of Arsenal F.C.

References

  1. ↑ Chambers remains in limbo
  2. ↑ Belzer, Jason. "The World's Most Powerful Sports Agents 2019: Soccer's Jonathan Barnett Takes Over At No. 1". Forbes. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  3. ↑ "World's Most Valuable Sports Agencies". Forbes. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  4. 1 2 "The JC Profile: Jonathan Barnett". Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 21 July 2019.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.