Source: Daily_Mail
Inside story: How businessmen bought United star Tevez, the West Ham fallout and the man who will sh
It is the most complex and mysterious transfer in the history of the Premier League. And now Manchester United have shown their hand; they are keen to sign Carlos Tevez, but they want a cheaper deal with Kia Joorabchian, his owner.
So what is the inside story of the latest transfer involving Joorabchian, the deal-maker responsible for more than £100million worth of talent in the English game and whose influence stretches deep into illustrious clubs such as United, Liverpool and Everton?
Here, including Joorabchian's own answers to questions posed by Sportsmail, LEE CLAYTON unravels the Tevez transfer saga...
Such is the demand to work with Kia Joorabchian that one Barclays Premier League manager recently approached him and asked: 'Everyone else is getting players, why don't you bring talent to me?'
Owners are regularly in his company at Les Ambassadeurs, the exclusive fine dining club just off London's Park Lane, where multi-million-pound deals are completed at 4am over £700 bottles of wine, Beluga caviar and hefty cigars. It is a bolt hole, too, for some of the Premier League's most high-profile managers.
As well as Carlos Tevez, Joorabchian, his company and a team of agents have been central to domestic transfers involving Javier Mascherano, Jo, Alex, Robinho and Afonso Alves. His players, mainly South American, stretch across Europe, playing in countries such as Russia, Portugal, Spain, Holland and Greece. There is a fresh batch of Brazilians on their way, though he insists he plays no formal role in transactions between clubs.Joorabchian's ambitions do not rest there, however. An Arsenal supporter and box holder at the Emirates Stadium, he may soon purchase an English club of his own, a potential trading post for his emerging stable of talent, as well as scouting for young British players to mentor, just as he has Tevez.But, because of the mishandling by West Ham of the transfer documents surrounding the arrival of Tevez in England, it is that deal which still draws unwelcome attention to Joorabchian and his business empire and so many questions.
How did you get to own Tevez?
I wanted to buy a club in England but I was drawn to Brazil,where there were many commercial possibilities. It was firstsuggested to me by Pele's agent.
Corinthians were a club with 25m supporters, the secondbiggest club in Brazil, but gates were as low as 12,000. I needed aplayer to spark interest and bring the club to life.
I want Tevez to stay: Sir Alex demands United keep striker after vital goal but Carlos' crew insist there's STILL no offer Tevez in a Liverpool shirt! Surely you won't let this happen, Fergie? Wigan boss Steve Bruce insists Cristiano and Carlos would be mad to leave UnitedMARTIN SAMUEL: Loan strangers make a mockery of the gameLatin lessons for every club: 10 South Americans to follow Tevez, Robinho and Santa Cruz to the Premier LeagueWe looked at many videos, spoke to different scouts across SouthAmerica and everyone thought we should buy Robinho. Then I saw oneDVD of one game of Boca Juniors, involving Carlitos. I knew he wasthe player.
I flew to Buenos Aires and tried many times to sign him. Eachtime they said, No. They kept on saying, No, and, I was going crazy! Hewas the player I wanted.
In the end, Carlos decided that he wanted to come and my companyagreed a £14m transfer fee with Boca, a South Americanrecord. He came to meet me to sign in a Shell petrol station,wearing his flip-flops! When Carlos flew to Sao Paulo, word got outthat he was coming.
There was a dinner for 400 Corinthians officials but 3,000people forced their way into the room and 20,000 lined the streetsoutside!
He started slowly but once he started scoring goals, it wasphenomenal. I said to him then: 'This project is yours and mine.You do your bit and I will do mine.'
One day he played for Argentina in Uruguay and then took aprivate jet back to Sao Paulo and played the next night for Corinthians! They loved him for that.
Within the first season, we had brought in five or sixoutstanding players, we won the title and broke the Brazilian record for stadium attendances. And a little sensation at thecentre of it all was Carlos Tevez.
How did you end up at West Ham?I had to return to England after the death of my father. I wastrying to buy West Ham and so I showed him that the club hadmassive potential, with a huge fan base. He wanted to come toEngland, along with Javier Mascherano, to join me. Like me, he wasexcited by the potential.
He hoped to be playing for a club competing for a place in thetop six. When I didn't buy the club, I had zero hard feelings but,even though he could have left in January, he was happy to stay. Hehas a great love for the club and the fans.
The original deal?It was a situation similar to Alex Song going to Charlton, orTim Howard to Everton, or Glen Johnson to Portsmouth.
We did everything right. The proof is in the pudding, becausenobody at the Premier League asked for me to go there and giveevidence. They knew that we had behaved correctly. We used toplawyers, top accountants.
We made sure everything was done, We've been involved in manyother deals and didn't have a single problem.
It wasn't a shady transfer. It wasn't a controversial transfer.It wasn't a strange transfer.
It has been said of the old administration at West Ham that theyhad not presented the correct documents to the Premier League. Idon't know, but whatever happened I'm sure could have been repairedto prevent all this controversy.
What I am very upset about - and sad about - is that Carlos hasbeen dragged into this affair, when he has nothing to do withit.
What happened once the Premier League had made their ruling and the contract needed to be renegotiated in order for Tevez to play?Hammer blow: Tevez celebrates scoring for West Ham against Manchester United in May 2007
Lee Clayton: Did you agree to tear up the contract?
Kia Joorabchian: West Ham have unilaterally terminated the agreement and Ihave left it in the hands of my lawyer, Graham Shear, to deal withthe matter.
LC: Are you comfortable with that.
KJ: Yes.
LC: To qualify Carlos to play, to satisfy the PremierLeague?
KJ: I am assuming so, or else he wouldn't have been able toplay.
LC: Who now owns Carlos Tevez, is he a West Ham player?
KJ: He is registered to West Ham.
LC: If he moves to another club, do West Ham make a profit?
KJ: No. To use an analogy, take Ben Foster. If he transferred toanother club, do Watford get the transfer fee?
LC: Is the loan deal indefinite?
KJ: No.
LC: If he doesn't stay at West Ham, could he go on loan to another club?
KJ: Yes.
LC: Do West Ham have a buy-out option on him?
KJ: That is confidential, but we are more than happy to talk to West Ham to try to resolve the problem, if they wish. Of course, Carlos's views are paramount.
Sportsmail has since learned that the buy-out clause to own Tevez outright is £40million.
Third-party transfers? They are a way of bringing outstanding players to clubs that would not be able to afford them ordinarily. So they increase the competition. Why should only Manchester United and Chelsea be able to afford the best players?
What happens, in Brazil particularly, clubs cannot afford to buy a player. So they go to a business, a bank, a major supermarket, an individual, a person, a wealthy individual and say: 'We want Mr X. You put up 70, 80, 100 per cent of the money, let him play here.'
It is a little bit like a loan deal between two clubs, except itis a loan deal between the club and a third party.
You buy the player outright, you invest in the player and the clubs sign him from you; they take the registration, the rights on any resale belong to you.
In all the time that Alan Curbishley has been manager (of West Ham), I have only spoken to him once and that was when he called to tell me he wanted Carlos to stay.
We never had any recourse with any of our other transfers, not a single one. Michel Platini has said this sort of transfer is a common occurrence in parts of Europe and in South America.
Can Tevez stay at West Ham? Where next? Who knows
West Ham's board have to decide what their intentions are.
Maybe they will think they want Carlos and build around him. Or maybe they will think that, for the money, they can buy four or five great players instead.
We haven't held talks with any club, contrary to what you might have read. This morning it was Inter Milan for £25m, the other day it was Real Madrid for £30m. These stories are the work of fiction.
He has a great affection for the club - and the supporters. The decision on his future is his. He has been very happy there. I have a great respect for (chairman) Eggert Magnusson, I believe they will be very successful in the future. Even though I didn't buy the club, I have zero hard feelings towards them.
As for Carlos, you must remember, he is only 23. He will get better and better.
