John Viola: Inside Football Transfers, Agents, Roberto Carlos & Brian Clough | TFH Podcast #61

Welcome back to The Football Historian Podcast, hosted by Peter Kenny Jones. After a World Cup and summer break, we’re back for a new season — and episode 61 is something a little different. This week I’m joined by football agent John Viola. We’ve had former players, managers, coaches and supporters on the podcast before, but this is our first proper look inside the world of football agents, transfers, negotiations and the side of the game fans rarely get to see. John has spent more than 35 years working in football, representing players and managers, doing deals around the world and working with some huge names in the game. In this episode, we talk about what agents actually do, why the perception of agents is often so negative, how long transfers really take, why deals collapse, what happens behind the scenes on deadline day, and how money, trust and relationships shape the modern game. John also shares brilliant stories involving Brian Clough, Nicolas Zigic, Charlie Miller, David Murray, Roberto Carlos, Luis Figo, Paul Gascoigne, Kenny Dalglish and more. From being told to get out by Brian Clough, to nearly signing Roberto Carlos for Chelsea, to ending up in Roberto Carlos’s helicopter in Brazil, this is a fascinating look at football from a completely different angle. PATREON Want more from The Football Historian Podcast? Watch the exclusive EXTRA section of this interview via our Patreon. It’s just £1 per month, giving you access to bonus episodes, monthly specials and the full back catalogue. In this week’s Extra Time section, John takes us inside the agent’s office and explains how he now helps educate the next generation of football agents. https://www.patreon.com/TheFootballHistorianPodcast Keep up to date with all our latest clips on our socials: Instagram: https://instagram.com/thefootballhistorianpod/TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@thefootballhistorianpodX: https://twitter.com/TheFHPod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices