I fulfilled my dream playing with Messi and Ronaldinho… now my wife hates my new job
ANDREA ORLANDI lived the dream alongside Barcelona Lionel Messi And Ronaldinho.
Now he has a new job football – but his wife hates it.
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Orlandi, 39, earned a surprise two-year move from Alavés to hometown club Barcelona from 2005 to 2007.
And although he played just one LaLiga match for the Nou Camp giants, the shock transfer saw the winger train with two of football's GOATs.
After spells at Swansea, Brighton and Blackpool on British soil, he went on to play in Cyprus, India and England Italy.
But Orlandi was suddenly forced to retire in 2019 when doctors discovered a heart problem.
However, he did not stay out of the game for long.
In addition to his duties as a pundit at LaLiga TV, Orlandi also became an agent.
And he started at the very top, with World Cup winner Antoine Griezmann as his first customer.
Orlandi explained: “I really had to think about it. But I met Antoine Griezmann when he was a Barcelona player. I met his entourage.
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“His sister is his agent and she wanted to build an agency around Antoine.
“They were looking for a footballer who could run the agency for them. And I thought it was a great opportunity to work with a world champion to start with and to build what I think is a very good agency.
“I contacted him immediately.
“It's a huge responsibility to start with a player like Antoine, but it's also a huge privilege.”
Orlandi now provides a host of players at By and For Sport Management.
He added to LaLiga Talks: “It was something that came to me after I retired because I was playing in different countries and I started to make some contacts.
“A few agencies started calling and I wasn't sure if I wanted to do it. Obviously it's a 24/7 job and it's hard. People may think it's easy: you call once and you arrange the deal and get the money and job done. It's not like that at all.
“We take care of players, we take care of them because I just want the best for them.
“I can give them advice in situations where I have made the wrong decisions at important moments in my career.
“Now I am a FIFA agent. I passed the exam. I have been working for more than three years now and am gaining experience.”
I was just living my dream. Ronaldinho was simply a rock star. I was so impressed, it was like going to Disney for me!
Andrea Orlandi
Orlandi has fallen seamlessly into the life of an agent and is clearly enjoying it.
But the same cannot be said for his wife, especially in January and beyond summer.
Orlandi revealed: “I love it.
“The excitement during the transfer window is incredible. It's tiring and stressful.
“My wife is not happy though! She's not happy with what I'm doing. I'm the lucky guy.”
Orlandi was also a happy boy when he got the chance to play with Ronaldinho at Barcelona.
Orlandi recalled his first training with Barcelona and said: “Ronaldinho. Wow.
“The first time I trained with the first team, he was the first to play in the starting line-up Dressing room and he did his “surfer” handshake.
“I couldn't believe it, I said to myself: 'This isn't real, this isn't happening.'
“I saw Messi as a young boy of 18 who broke through. But if you compare the magic of Ronaldinho to Messi, as Messi is probably the best player ever, Ronaldinho was different. He was by far the best I've seen.
“Even in terms of talent, he had something different. I just wanted to be close to him, to be in the same five-a-side team for training.
“I was just living my dream. He was just a rock star. When you see Ronaldinho and Xavi, I just wanted to be them. I was so impressed, it was like going there Disney for me!”
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