Pini Zahavi

Pini Zahavi was born in 1942 in Ness Ziona

Pinhas Zahavi was born in Ness Ziona on August 24, 1942. His father was a shopkeeper who sold building materials. As a young man he played football for the local club and coached youth players until he joined the army.

After his army service he began studying economics at university but left. He then worked as a sports journalist for Hadashot Hasport, Yedioth Ahronoth and Hadashot. Through this work he built ties with football figures such as Graeme Souness and Kenny Dalglish.

His first transfer came in 1979, when Avi Cohen moved from Maccabi Tel Aviv to Liverpool. He later handled deals for Ronnie Rosenthal and Eyal Berkovic, and Rio Ferdinand's moves to Leeds United in 2000 and Manchester United in 2002. In 2003 he had a central role in Roman Abramovich's purchase of Chelsea.

In 2005 the Football Association recommended that he be investigated over Chelsea's approach to Ashley Cole. In 2017 he was involved in Neymar's transfer to Paris Saint-Germain. He is a widower with 2 children and lives in Tel Aviv.