Hammers settle for £2m pay-off to
release Tevez
Carlos Tevez will finally sign for Manchester United after his
'owner' Kia Joorabchian and West Ham reached an out-of-court
agreement last night. Joorabchian's company, MSI, have agreed to
pay West Ham £2million to release Tevez's registration and clear
the way for him to complete his move to United.
The Premier League are expected to rubber-stamp the details of the
deal today, an action which will also end a very uncomfortable
period for chief executive Richard Scudamore. Tevez, 23, has long
since agreed personal terms with United and the Argentina forward
will fly into the country this weekend to tie up the details of his
move. He has already passed a medical at Old Trafford before West
Ham withdrew permission for his move so another will be a mere
formality. United will pay Joorabchian £10m to acquire Tevez on
what is effectively a two-year loan deal worth £4.5m in wages a
year to the player and then have the option to make the transfer
permanent for another three years for a further £25m.
Last night's negotiations ended a long running and often bitter
dispute between West Ham and Joorabchian, who owned Tevez's
economic rights. Joorabchian, who masterminded the deal to bring
Tevez and Javier Mascherano to Upton Park from Brazilian club
Corinthians last year, took West Ham to the High Court to claim
breach of contract. He believed an agreement had been signed for
Tevez to leave for £100,000 this summer but the matter had become
confused when the Premier League fined the London club £5.5m in
April for striking a deal which gave a third party influence over
the player.
Joorabchian eventually decided that Tevez needed to return to
training and complete the move, without the prospect of a long
drawn-out court battle. After weeks of arguments, the parties
clashed in court on Tuesday with West Ham's lawyers querying the
authenticity of a Tevez signature on a contract amendment, dated
December 1, 2006.
Joorabchian had hoped to secure the release of Tevez's registration
for a lesser fee but was concerned by the fact that the striker,
after competing in the Copa America, was still in South America,
training alone as the Community Shield looms. Tevez was desperate
to take part in the Wembley showpiece against Chelsea on Sunday but
will not now feature. Instead, he will join up with his new
team-mates next week to start his preparation for the Premiership
season.
For United, it marks a successful conclusion to another transfer
hunt. They have already added Owen Hargreaves, Nani and Anderson to
their championshipwinning squad for a combined fee of more than
£50m. Manager Sir Alex Ferguson and his chief executive, David
Gill, have always maintained their belief that Tevez would be in
their squad before the transfer deadline on August 31 and they have
been proved right.
