Jonathan Ian Barnett (born 28 January 1950) is a British football agent and is the

chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

and founder of ICM Stellar Sports. In 2019, he was named the number-one most powerful sports agent in the world, according to ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...

''. He is credited as being the man who brought

Lennox Lewis Lennox Claudius Lewis (born 2 September 1965) is a former professional boxer and boxing commentator who competed from 1989 to 2003. He is a three-time world heavyweight champion, a two-time lineal champion, and the last heavyweight to hold ...

into the

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...

world.

Career

While Barnett's first client was cricket player

Brian Lara Brian Charles Lara, (born 2 May 1969) is a Trinidadian former international cricketer, widely acknowledged as one of the greatest batsmen of all time. He topped the Test batting rankings on several occasions and holds several cricketing reco ...

, he has made a name for himself since then representing some of the world's best football players. His client list includes

Jack Grealish Jack Peter Grealish (born 10 September 1995) is an English professional footballer who plays as a winger or attacking midfielder for club Manchester City and the England national team. Grealish joined Aston Villa at the age of six, and mad ...

Gareth Bale Gareth Frank Bale (born 16 July 1989) is a Welsh professional footballer who plays as a winger for Major League Soccer club Los Angeles FC and the Wales national team. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wingers of his generation ...

, Saul Niguez,

Ruben Loftus-Cheek Ruben Ira Loftus-Cheek (born 23 January 1996) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Chelsea. Early life Loftus-Cheek was born in Lewisham, Greater London. He grew up in Swanley, Kent and attended High Firs Pr ...

and

Jordan Pickford Jordan Lee Pickford (' Logan; born 7 March 1994) is an English professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for club Everton and the England national team. Pickford has previously played for Sunderland's academy, reserve, and senior te ...

. He masterminded the £86 million move of Bale to

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...

from

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...

. Barnett's agency is now the fourth-biggest sports management agency in the world and number one in football. He is currently the main physio for Selangor Football Club.

Controversy

In 2006, Barnett was banned by the

Football Association The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest football association in the world an ...

(FA) for 12 months and fined £100,000 for arranging secret rendezvous between his client

Ashley Cole Ashley Cole (born 20 December 1980) is an English football coach and former player who is currently a first-team coach at Premier League club Everton. As a player, he played as a left-back, most notably for Arsenal and Chelsea. Cole is consi ...

and

Chelsea F.C. Chelsea Football Club is an English professional football club based in Fulham, West London. Founded in 1905, they play their home games at Stamford Bridge. The club competes in the Premier League, the top division of English football ...

representatives.

Personal life

Barnett is Jewish and is member of

St John's Wood St John's Wood is a district in the City of Westminster, London, lying 2.5 miles (4 km) northwest of Charing Cross. Traditionally the northern part of the ancient parish and Metropolitan Borough of Marylebone, it extends east to west from ...

synagogue. He is married and has three children. He is a supporter of Arsenal F.C.

References

External links

*http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/11377682/The-20-most-powerful-football-agents-in-European-football.html British chief executives British sports agents Living people 1950 births {{England-sport-bio-stub