Meet Alexander Isak’s controversial agent who FIFA investigated and brokered Chelsea deals

Alexander Isak is being advised by an agent who’s found himself at the heart of several controversies in European football since the early 2000s, with Newcastle being his latest battle

Vlado Lemic has once again proved he’s not afraid to throw the cat amongst the pigeons this summer. Alexander Isak’s agent has stirred up one of the biggest transfer controversies in recent memory ahead of the new Premier League season.

The Newcastle United striker is now reportedly refusing to play for the club for which he’s scored 62 goals in 109 games as he looks to force through a move to Liverpool before the window slams shut. His decision-making, particularly the timing of it, has raised plenty of eyebrows.

But the picture grows clearer when turning the attention to one of the representatives who’s been advising him over the past few weeks, Lemic. The world of football agency involves making political power moves and playing off parties against each other.

READ MORE: Alexander Isak takes new drastic step to force Liverpool transfer after Newcastle threatREAD MORE: Alexander Isak torn apart after bombshell Newcastle claim – ‘Who do you think you are?!’

Those are skills that the Serbian, 59, has fine tuned having worked in the field for over a quarter of a century. What started as primarily helping players from his home country make moves to the Netherlands has snowballed into one of the biggest agencies in the world as part of Unverisal Twenty Two, who also boast the likes of Emi Martinez and Luka Modric on their books.

It was during his early work for PSV in the 2000s that Lemic first came under fire. He was accused of financial misconduct, claims which went unproven but saw him banned from the club’s training ground regardless.

Four years later in 2012, FIFA opened an investigation into his role in the transfer of Croatian midfielder Milan Badelj from Dinamo Zagreb to Hamburg. The involved parties were all contacted by the world governing body after Lemic was alleged to have benefited financially from the deal via an inflated fee.

But they closed the investigation in February 2013, saying at the time: “After an investigation by FIFA TMS (Transfer Management System) into the allegations, it appears that there was no substantial involvement by Vlado Lemic in this transfer.”

All the while, Lemic had been working his way up the football food chain. Having previously brokered a partnership between PSV and Chelsea that saw the Dutch side loan the Blues’ signings until they could get a British work permit, he became increasingly involved with Roman Abramovich.

He was said to be behind the transfers of Branislav Ivanovic and Nemanja Matic to Stamford Bridge in 2008 and 2009, respectively. His network of contacts was growing exponentially across Europe, including at Real Madrid, who with his help inserted a £387million release clause in Luka Modric’s contract when he joined from Tottenham in 2012.

In more recent years, Lemic helped broker several deals for Ajax, who have since supposedly followed PSV’s lead and banned him. Swedish side AIK are also said to have similarly cut ties with his agency. Universal Twenty Two agency have been approached for comment.

The kicker is that Lemic isn’t officially a licensed player agent, but rather considers himself an adviser. He works closely with his brother Zoran, who is licensed by FIFA, and several other partners like Sven Mislintat, through whom official communication is usually made with clubs.

Gonzalo Gaitan, for example, has been dealing with most of Isak’s back-and-forth. Ultimately, it’s clear Lemic is a man who usually gets what he wants, one way or another, earning money along the way for his advisory services.

That’s being pushed to the extreme with Isak, whose threat to strike permanently appears misguided given Newcastle are under no obligation to sell this summer, particularly with their search for a replacement striker hitting multiple roadblocks. Whether the tactics will pay off and Liverpool can improve on their opening £110m bid remains to be seen.

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