Manchester City’s have had their reported £18 million bid for Brazilian striker Jo blocked by the Premier League whilst they investigate third-party ownership problems linked to the CSKA Moscow star, according to the Daily Telegraph.
The deal which was expected to be completed this week has now been transformed into a Tevez/ West Ham type transfer saga. In fact the deal is remarkably similar to the Carlos Tevez deal of 2006.
Jo is owned by the same company who also owned Carlos Tevez, MSI, and is represented by Kia Joorabchian, the man who represented Javier Mascherano and Tevez in the West Ham saga. Both Jo and Tevez played at Brazilian club Corinthians as well.
The Premier League then investigated the Tevez transfer arrangement, leading to rules stating that all players must be directly owned by their clubs to prevent any conflict of interest arising. With Jo also connected to the company as well as Joorabchian involved in brokering the deal the Premier League have moved to question the transfer.
“We are aware of the situation with Jo and the rules are very clear,” said Dan Johnson, a spokesman for the Premier League.
“At the Premier League AGM held two weeks ago it was agreed that third-party ownership of any player will not be allowed.
“While that situation is common in countries like Spain and Portugal, we agreed that it is not tolerable here.
“We want to ensure no one can accuse us of compromising the integrity of the competition so we have stated that third party ownership is illegal.
“We believe this is in the best interests of the Premier League and our clubs and we think we are economically strong enough to impose it.”
The Premier league are keen to avoid yet another controversial transfer deal like the Tevez incident, in which Sheffield United are still trying to win some sort of compensation over the deal.
However, Manchester City remain keen to sign the Brazilian star, but will have to prove to the Premier League that they will solely own the striker and that MSI will have no further involvement in Jo, according to the Daily Telegraph.
A deal still could be on the cards and a statement from a Kia Joorabchian spokesperson said: “Kia is aware of the change of rules with regard to third-party ownership.”
“He is working on a solution that will be suitable to the Premier League and Manchester City.”
[Sources: The Daily Telegraph, Press Association]
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