The latest Forbes list is out...who are the richest football agents currently operating within the game?

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Jorge Mendes has been involved in contracts worth a total of £626.3m
Mendes' clients include Cristiano Ronaldo, Diego Costa and Thiago Silva
Jonathan Barnett is the agent of Gareth Bale, Luke Shaw and Joe Hart
Volker Struth is the most powerful middle-man in the German Bundesliga
Dutchman Mino Raiola is extremely powerful if not a hugely popular figure

Published: 09:50 EST, 24 September 2015 | Updated: 12:48 EST, 24 September 2015

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Business analysts Forbes have published their most recent findings on the world's richest football agents, with those responsible for brokering deals for the biggest names unsurprisingly near the top of the list.

Premier League clubs spent over £1billion on transfers in 2015, shattering the equivalent figures recorded by the other major European leagues.

With the role of the agent becoming more and more prominent, Sportsmail looks at the seven most powerful middle men currently doing business in the game.

Cristiano Ronaldo´s agent Jorge Mendes is among the most powerful figures currently within the game

Gareth Bale is the world's most expensive player after he completed a £85.3m move to Real Madrid in 2013

7. Thomas Kroth

Agency: Pro Profil

Represents: Manuel Neuer, Aleksander Dragovic, Shinji Kagawa, Sebastian Rode, Jose Holebas

Contracts worth: £146m

Commissions (career payments for completed deals): £14.7m

A tenacious German midfielder in his day, Kroth has gone on to enjoy a far more successful career as an agent since hanging up his boots in 1991. The one-cap wonder has Bayern Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer on his books, as well as former Manchester United playmaker Shinji Kagawa.

Former German footballer Thomas Kroth (right) has several Bundesliga players among his clients

6. Fernando Felicevich

Agency: Fernando Felicevich

Represents: Alexis Sanchez, Arturo Vidal, Claudio Bravo, Gary Medel

Contracts worth: £148m

Commissions: £15m

Felicevich has become one of the game's most coveted agents, having enjoyed an extremely lucrative 12 months following the Brazil World Cup.

Chile's success at the tournament laid the platform for things to come in this year's Copa America, with four of Jorge Sampaoli's side now having signed big-money deals across Europe - all coming from Felicevich's stable.

Fernando Felicevich is a picture of happiness on a private jet to London with Alexis Sanchez in 2014

5. Mino Raiola

Agency: Mino Raoila

Represents: Paul Pogba, Henrikh Mkitarhyan, Blaise Matuidi, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Maxwell, Romelu Lukaku, Mario Balotelli

Contracts worth: £186m

Commissions: £18.7m

Sir Alex Ferguson may have blamed Raiola for the departure of Paul Pogba from Manchester United on the cheap, but the player's agent is synonymous with the trade, becoming a revered figure among his peers in recent years.

The Dutchman became Romelu Lukaku's agent earlier this year, claiming the Belgian would not have joined Everton had the striker been in his stable rather than that of long-standing agent Christophe Henrotay in 2014.

Mino Raoila walks alongside Mario Balotelli in Milan during his client's first spell with the San Siro club in 2013

4. Jose Otin

Agency: Bahia Internacional

Represents: Vitolo, Fernando Torres, Javi Martinez, Jesus Navas, Pedro, Raul Garcia, Nacho Monreal

Contracts worth: £191m

Commissions: £19.2m

Otin has cast his net across Europe, reaping the rewards of negotiating deals for some of the biggest stars across the top five leagues from one country to another. The Bahia Internacional agent deals exclusively with Spanish footballers, but that hasn't stopped the man who once worked in radio from sending his clients abroad.

Jose Otin has seven Spanish footballers among his clients including Fernando Torres and Jesus Navas

3. Volker Struth

Agency: SportsTotal

Represents: Marco Reus, Mario Gotze, Toni Kroos, Benedikt Howedes, Sidney Sam, Omer Toprak, Gonzalo Castro, Josip Drmic.

Contracts worth: £278m

Commissions: £27.8m

The SportsTotal agent is the most powerful middle man in German football, with some of the biggest names currently plying their trade in the Bundesliga being on his books.

Mario Gotze is one such illustrious name, but Struth made headlines in the summer when he claimed the current Bayern Munich boss Pep Guardiola had 'destroyed' his player through a lack of first-team opportunities.

Volker Struth deals with a mixture of German, Swiss and Turkish footballers including Bayern's Mario Gotze

2. Jonathan Barnett

Agency: Stellar Group

Represents: Gareth Bale, Joe Hart, Wojciech Szczesny, Scott Sinclair, Luke Shaw, Rafael, Glen Johnson, Phil Jagielka, Adam Lallana, Ashley Cole, Sylvain Distin, Patrick Roberts, Richard Wright

Contracts worth: £287m

Commissions: £28.8m

Barnett masterminded Gareth Bale's £86million move from Tottenham to Real Madrid in 2013, and the highest-placed Brit on the list also played a crucial role in negotiating Luke Shaw's £27m move from Southampton to Manchester United the following summer.

Barnett said earlier this month that Bale was never close to leaving the Bernabeu for Old Trafford, describing the speculation as 'stupid paper talk'.

Jonathan Barnett is the agent for an army of footballers who have played in the Premier League

1. Jorge Mendes

Agency: Gestifute International

Represents: Cristiano Ronaldo, James Rodriguez, Eliaquim Mangala, Pepe, Ricardo Carvalho, Fabio Coentrao,Diego Costa, Thiago Silva, Tiago, Radamel Falcao, Angel di Maria, David de Gea, Jose Mourinho.

Contracts worth: £626.3m

Commissions: £62.8m

Mendes is the undisputed top dog of football agents, negotiating more than £625m in player contracts, including a £135m deal for client Cristiano Ronaldo at Real Madrid. Ronaldo returned the favour when his agent recently got married, buying him with a Greek island as a wedding present.

Sir Alex Ferguson wrote in his new autobiography Leading: 'There are some decent agents, but you don't need all the fingers of one hand to count them. Jorge Mendes is one.'