The transfer saga which has delevoped over Carlos Tevez’s planned move to Manchester United has taken a new twist today.
It has been announced that an arrest order has been issued for Kia Joorabchian, the representative responsible for Tevez’s affairs.
A federal judge in Brazil has charged Joorabchian, amongst others, with money-laundering and being part of a criminal gang, for the role he played in the relationship between Media Sports Investment (MSI) and Corinthians, the Brazilian club he first took Tevez to, before bringing him to England.
Federal attornies have spoken out about the arrest order, saying “the (MSI) transactions are carried out with the use of numerous offshore accounts which have the single and well-known intention of distancing the investor and the illicit origin of the resources from their final destination, in this case the purchase and sale of (football) players.”
Whilst the implications of this might be felt by Manchester United, it will certainly raise the hopes of Sheffield United, who feel they were wrongly relegated from the Premiership last season, after West Ham were fined £5.5 million, but not docked any points over the deals for Tevez and Liverpool’s Mascherano.
The deal is already more messy than Sir Alex Ferguson would like, and this latest news is not going to please the manager, who is determined to sign the striker in order to win his tenth English league title.