Manchester United Wait for Tevez
Negotiations between West Ham United and Kia Joorabchian Continue
Manchester United await the outcome of continued discussions between West Ham United who hold the playing registration for Carlos Tevez and his third-party owners Media Sport International and Just Sport Inc. Sir Alex Ferguson sees the Argentine as the ideal solution for the inconsistency of his strikers. He has lost patience with Louis Saha, Alan Smith and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer who is nearing the end of his career and can’t be relied upon for the lengthy season that United are anticipating with aspirations of success on four fronts. Having been linked with a number of strikers, Ferguson has identified Tevez as the one to support Christiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney.
Their season starts at Wembley on Sunday against Chelsea in the F.A. Community Shield but Carlos Tevez will not be part of that event as the unending wrangle continues over who owns the player.
Premier League watching discussions
West Ham United assured the Premier League that the offending third party agreements had been terminated during the season. This meant that Tevez could play in West Ham’s final games and the club accepted their £5.5 million fine. The successful conclusion to West Ham’s season saw Tevez score the crucial winning goal at Old Trafford in the final game of the season to ensure they avoided relegation, at the expense of Sheffield United.
Sheffield United took the case to the High Court but were refused leave to appeal against the Premier League arbitration panel's decision which had upheld the original decision not to dock West Ham points over the transfers of Argentine Tevez and compatriot Javier Mascherano. The London club free were then able to plan for their new season in the Premier League while the Yorkshire club had to adjust to life in the Championship.
Manchester United have had a bid of £30 million accepted by Tevez’s advisors but West ham are refusing to release the player’s registration. The club have to be very careful not to do anything which would appear to differ from the arrangements that the Premier League deem to be in place concerning the player. The Premier League themselves are watching the situation very carefully insisting that the vast majority of any fee paid by Manchester United should go to the selling club, West Ham United.
High Court may decide
However, Kia Joorabchian on behalf of MSI claim that they hold the rights to the player and should receive the money. All parties agreed to ask FIFA to resolve the matter but they would not get involved and now a High Court case is set to begin in mid August, if an agreement can not be reached.
All Parties want Settlement
Manchester United are anxious to sign the player and want the deal completed as quickly as possible. Tevez wants the matter sorted so that he can play for the Premier League champions and West Ham want it resolves as quietly as possible so that nothing emerges which would contradict the explanation they gave to the authorities earlier in the year. MSI want their money and make statements in the media suggesting that they have documents which would cause West Ham difficulties. This would alert Sheffield United who are deeply aggrieved about the way they lost their Premier League place after one year in the top flight of English football.
A Solution has to be found
The long running saga will continue to spark controversy and prompt much discussion and speculation. However, with the new football season fast approaching a resolution will have to be found and in all probability the matter will be resolved before making it into the courts which will be to everyone’s satisfaction, apart from Sheffield United.
