off topic, sorry lads i found this today, it makes for interesting reading
The First article was written January 2005 about watching out for dodgy deals to do with MSI, now its happening
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Premiership: Keep an eye on MSI for future Chelsea deals
"The suspicion is that MSI is being used as a front to buy players in order to keep them out of the hands of Chelsea's big-money rivals"
It might seem a little unlikely that the transfer of a player between an Argentinean and a Brazilian club could have any significant impact on the Premiership, but the recent deal that took Carlos Tevez from Boca Juniors to Corinthians for a fee of close to £12 million (a Brazilian record) is one that bears closer examination.
Corinthians, mired in debt after years of mismanagement and corruption (as is seemingly obligatory in Brazilian football), entered into a partnership with Media Sports Investments (MSI), a London-based investment group, in December 2004, with a 10-year deal between the two consisting of a £20 million investment from MSI in return for 51% of future profits.
The last month has seen Corinthians, with the help of their new-found backers, also recruit the services of other top players, with Carlos Alberto (scorer of Porto's first goal in last season's Champions League final), CSKA Moscow striker Vagner Love and centre-back Sebastian Dominguez from Argentine table-toppers Newell's Old Boys all moving to Sao Paulo.
The President of MSI is 33-year old Kia Joorabchian (believed to be Iranian), but a certain Russian billionaire and an Israeli agent, Pini Zahavi, are both thought to be involved. Joorabchian has denied Abramovich's involvement, although he admits that the Russian billionaire is a friend (they also have business links through another Russian billionaire, Boris Berezovsky). Abramovich has also denied having any financial interest in CSKA Moscow, but there is enough evidence to suggest this is dubious at best - a US$54 million three-year deal to have their shirts sponsored by Russian oil company Sibneft, of which Abramovich is still the major shareholder; club president Yevgeny Giner being another "close friend" of Abramovich; the recent controversial signing of Jiri Jarosik (CSKA coach Valeri Gazzayev was furious at the deal).
Whoever is behind the company (and it's difficult to believe that the aforementioned speculation isn't without some substance), MSI have wasted little time in making their mark elsewhere, having also signed the River Plate trio of Javier Mascherano (one of the most sought after young players in the game), Maxi Lopez and Lucho Gonzalez. The company are now negotiating where their three amigos will be playing their football in the immediate future, with Benfica having already signed Lopez and Gonzalez said to be interesting Porto.
The suspicion is that MSI is being used as a front to buy players in order to keep them out of the hands of Chelsea's big-money rivals. This also enables them to farm players out to the likes of Corinthians, where the London club can monitor their progress, safe in the knowledge that they have first shout on their futures if and when they see fit to take them to Stamford Bridge. In doing so, Chelsea are taking the concept of feeder clubs to a whole new level.
David Hulott
19/01/2005
Something Fishy About Tevez And Mascherano To West Ham Deal
August 31st, 2006 by Alan Hylands
And I'm not talking about the year's supply of jellied eels they've got in front of them either. The deal to take Argentina stars Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano to West Ham United hasn't officially been confirmed yet but football discussion forums are white hot with the news and the potential implications, not only for West Ham but for the premiership at large.
What would attract two of the world's most sought after, young, talented international stars to Upton Park and the waiting arms of Alan Pardew? At first glance there is no logical explanation. West Ham had a great season last year after their promotion and surprised a lot of people (me included) with their classy football and solid defence that not only gave them a respectable league finish but also took them to the FA Cup Final.
I doubt that their Cup Final defeat in one of the liveliest and most enjoyable Cup Finals in many years will have been enough to tempt the two Argies though and despite having a foot in European competition with the UEFA Cup, I doubt that's the real pulling factor either.
My suspicions lead me to a somewhat shadier deal being cooked up between the players' club Corinthians, their owners MSI and another club with shady links to MSI and their owners. It's long been rumoured that Roman Abramovich is the money man behind MSI and the reason that a broke Brazilian club like Corinthians could afford players like Tevez and Mascherano in the first place. It leaves no doubt in my mind that Chelsea and Roman are behind this proposed season long loan deal for the two Argentinians to West Ham and it's only for one purpose - to acclimatise the players to London and the Premiership and see whether they are worth signing for Chelsea properly next summer.
There can be no other reason for this transfer to take place. Yes, West Ham are a good, homely club with some good players but for a club to sign Carlton Cole this summer and turn around and also get Carlos Tevez, it leaves me wondering what the motives are. I think I've worked out the obvious answer and it doesn't bode well for the rest of the Premiership.
We've seen Chelsea's strange buys and loan deals in the past with players like Smertin and Jarosik but this moves things to another level completely. Chelsea don't outright own these players or their club but their guiding hand can skew the transfer market that they can prevent any of their near rivals in the top five from having these players while they park them at a safe and respectable club, close but not too close, for a season to let them mature in the English game.
Something stinks around here and the smell is increasingly eminating from Roman Abramovich's direction
sorry if this is spamming