First Roman Abramovich And Now Kia Joorabchian?
And to think we all thought the domination of The Premier League was in the hands of Chelsea and their billions.
How wrong we were.
With todays quite amazing news that West Ham United have managed to sign Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano you have to wonder what the hell just happened here, and what does it mean for English football.
With huge clubs like Arsenal, Manchester United, AC Milan, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Roma all linked to the Argentinean Duo you have to ask yourself how did they sign for West Ham?
How can they even afford these players - remembering that Tevez had a buy-out clause in his contract worth £68 million that needed to be paid off in order for him to even leave Corinthians.
So you can bet that this ‘undisclosed fee’ West Ham got these players for was nothing, especially since MSI were preparing a takeover bid of WHU last year.
But of course, the President of London-based MSI (Media Sports Investments) Kia Joorabchian who own Corinthians have signed a crop of Brazilian and South American talent in their time with their new found wealth, including players such as Maxi Lopez, Lucho Gonzalez, Carlos Alberto, Wagner Love & Sebastian Dominguez.
Haven’t heard of them? You will do.
Great news for West Ham fans who can expect massive transfer coups over the next few seasons as they look to attack Chelsea, Arsenal, Man United and Liverpool at the top of The Premiership.
Bad news for the rest of the league.
And another worrying aspect is that although Kia Joorabchian denies any involvement with Roman Abramovich in regards to MSI they do have business links through another Russian billionaire Boris Berezovsky so aren’t exactly strangers to each other.
Of course Abramovich also denies any financial interest in CSKA Moscow, even though a company that he is a shareholder of Sibneft are the shirt sponsors of CSKA in a £30 million, 3 year deal.
Or maybe West Ham won’t be bought out by MSI and won’t become a major force in the game over the next few years. Maybe West Ham are just a feeder club to Chelsea, who will monitor the players progress over the season and then decide if they are good enough to play for them in The Premiership.
Either way, neither scenario is exactly great for Arsenal!
August 31st, 2006 at 6:38 pm
Chelski have confirmed a Cole Gallas swap deal is close.
August 31st, 2006 at 6:47 pm
Plagiarism will not be tolerated..
August 31st, 2006 at 6:50 pm
So if we sell Cole that’s another player out and wait…
No players in! Fcuking brilliant….
August 31st, 2006 at 6:53 pm
SWAP deal, i.e Gallas coming the other way. Oh and anon, don’t buy any U2 albums then, you’ll be massively disappointed!
August 31st, 2006 at 6:55 pm
Fecking hell, sorry Dutch - I have been looking at the transfer news all day and my brain is frazzled!
I would welcome Gallas at Arsenal - Toure is strong and versatile enough to play in midfield.
Imagine Toure at the heart of the Arsenal team!
August 31st, 2006 at 7:16 pm
Jeez what a day, Sky Sports News & NewsNow are just compulsive viewing!
If we do the Cole/Gallas and the Reyes/Beast deal then I can only see that as making us a much stronger and mature team.
Thierry will have his mate with us, the spine of the team will be strong, and if Gilby is out then the Beast is a good alternative.
If neither go through then it’s as your were with 2 unhappy players!
5 hours and counting….
August 31st, 2006 at 7:19 pm
great piece and yes - english football is officially fucked.
August 31st, 2006 at 7:22 pm
Like your thinking “Wenger’s Immortals Says”
Fresh, positive, invigorating, incisive, and sounds so obvious. If only among all the doom and gloom it could become true…
August 31st, 2006 at 7:43 pm
For a while there I was thinking “as you were gents”. Then I thought “ok we’ll have Cole too thanks”. Because I never imagined Gallas would go - I figured they’d iron things out and get on with it.
Also, I’d take Billy any day over Ashley and I really never thought we would consider a swap deal after your evaluation of Billy at 5m. But if both players are so unhappy then I suppose it makes sense. Still ,I think Billy is worth as much as Cole and I’ll be interested to see how much we get ripped off for.
Billy is an outstanding central defender. Partnered with JT, they had a quite an amazing number of shut-outs and I just can’t understand why JM insisted on playing Carvalho there instead. It will be a shame to see him go. You will have done a good deal if you get him.
On the other hand we’ll have another England international with time on his side and onre of the best in his position worlwide.
Funny but you lot are starting to look like us in Vialli’s days…. where av yer English lads gone?
August 31st, 2006 at 7:45 pm
Little Dutch wash your mouth out, U2 have never copied anyone in their lives. Please stick to things you purport to have knowledge about.
August 31st, 2006 at 7:58 pm
Bluemoon, Totally agree with you. I really rate Gallas, and if we were to get him in exchange for cole, along with a bit of money too, we have done very well despite losing another english player.
It is beginning to worry me that theo is now our only recognised englishman…
August 31st, 2006 at 8:05 pm
Reyes has joined Real peeps, squad number 19, just released on Marca.com, Baptista joining us on a years loan deal.
August 31st, 2006 at 8:08 pm
courtesy of babelfish.
———————————
Kings will play in Madrid and Baptista in the Arsenal
Advance. Real Madrid and the Arsenal have closed the interchange of Kings and Baptist, according to advanced to Radio Mark. Kings will play in the Real Madrid yielded by a year with number 19 the back and Baptist already passed the medical examination in London with the Arsenal.
August 31st, 2006 at 8:31 pm
Hold on - Gallas is being swapped for Ashley Cole? And Arsenal aren’t getting any extra money on top?
If that’s true then that is the worst transfer ever!!
August 31st, 2006 at 8:31 pm
I still think Baptista is a panic signing. And even Gallas in parts. Put it this way. You really think Wenger was after Baptista and Gallas for the past few weeks or so? I don’t. Certainly not Baptista. These are last minute desperation signings. If we had kept Reyes and Cole, Gallas and Baptista would never of been brought in and we still would of need strenghtening.
August 31st, 2006 at 8:35 pm
Maybe Wenger wasn’t after Baptista, but he was so eager for him last year, so he must rate him highly, and he must think that he will provide us with some muscle and experience in a young team, plus he can get some goals and cover Gilby if he get’s a knock!
I think it’s a good deal.
August 31st, 2006 at 8:36 pm
Well if I was resigned to losing Reyes and Cole then it would make sense to swap them for similar players - Gallas and Baptista are good options in my opinion!
If Cole and Reyes were staying then we wouldn’t need strengthening! Most Gooners were resigned to losing Cole & Reyes - that’s why they wanted the squad strengthening!
August 31st, 2006 at 8:40 pm
Great signing, but is it only a loan deal because Baptista wasn’t up for a permanent move to Arsenal? I’d feel alot better if it was a permanent as that way it proves more committed and not just going through the motions. Plus where will he play? Tough midfielder though not defensive or up front? If it is midfield then we don’t need perhaps another central ball winner.
August 31st, 2006 at 8:42 pm
Agreed with you Wenger’s Immortals Reyes has the fans split 50/50, plus be doesn’t seem to have the chemistry with Henry. Cole, although the best in his class has pretty much burnt his bridges and the last thing I want at the Emirates is some booing of our own, which we *very* rarely do, by getting Gallas we have Henry’s mate who can play as a top centre back or cover at left back until the Clich is fully fit! to me apart from the keeper, we are pretty well covered and not too many areas need covering.
August 31st, 2006 at 8:59 pm
Gelbs do you reckon it was Baptista not wanting the deal or Wenger, if it doesn’t work out and we still own Reyes, he will be a lot easier to sell than The Beast for the £13-15 mil that they are both supposedly worth, so maybe it was Wengers?
August 31st, 2006 at 9:05 pm
If Beast is a useful DM then he’s better than Reyes for one reason - -it is easier to find pacey wingers than it is dominant DM’s. Esp if you already have a pacey winger in Walcott!
August 31st, 2006 at 9:09 pm
Who knows mate. But Baptista has always made it clear he didn’t want Arsenal and could be just joining for the loan just to play football. Reyes wants to leave totally anyway. Plus the deals aren’t complete yet. The clubs have agreed it but don’t think pen to paper on personal terms been finalised.
August 31st, 2006 at 9:10 pm
Arsenal a HUGE club? Larf right?
August 31st, 2006 at 9:14 pm
if we look at last season, without Cole or Clichy we managed some top draw defending, by adding Gallas who can play in both centre back and left back then we are stronger there. With Reyes we have a good energetic player but was a winger who couldn’t run past a player, and a striker who didn’t score much, by getting Baptista we have a solid big midfielder that can help with his height when were defending, add muscle to the middle when playing away or have injuries, but can also score goals with both head and feet, something else Reyes can’t do, so I think we are definitely better off, plus we have some more money in the bank!
August 31st, 2006 at 9:49 pm
Fucked up the cloning.Had to sign someone.
August 31st, 2006 at 10:03 pm
bearing in mind wenger plays 4-4-2 in the league what position does baptista play within that? excuse my ignorance. I imagine him playing behind a striker as an attacking midfielder that would mean we drop both RVP and ade but play bap behind henry and keep the same midfield.
The only other option is to drop fabregas or at least play Fabregas out wide right. wenger wanted him last year so he must have had a plan for him.
anyway its all academic if wenger insists on playing Hoyte at left back.
September 2nd, 2006 at 2:26 am
I suspect that the deal may not be such good news for West Ham, as it may seem, particularly if Joorabchian takes over.
Corinthians are in terrible problems, not least because they have had 7 managers in the two years since MSI took a controlling interest in the club, and in fact is questionable if Corinthians have a club at all. It is reported that MSI are paying the wages of all but 5 of the players, and could therefore do exactly what they have done with Tevez and Mascherano.
Arsenal may have problems, but it will be nothing compared to the problems Chelsea, Portsmouth etc would have if police were to investigate alleged money laundering (seriously).
September 3rd, 2006 at 3:56 am
Yeah, I’m pretty sure that West Ham don’t own the players at all - obviously MSI own them so they’ve got to play where MSI tell them!
That includes West Ham United…
November 29th, 2006 at 2:23 pm
It was a long way to go on the off-chance of an interview with Roman Abramovich, the new owner of Chelsea FC: 4,000 miles, nine hours crammed into an Ilyushin jet.
There was no legroom, and no guarantee that we’d be let out the other end. Chukotka is part of Russia, but you need a special permit to travel there, and we didn’t have one. Roman Abramovich is Russia’s second richest businessman. I couldn’t get to sleep. I kept having visions of being dragged off the plane by stern-faced Cold War-era border guards, cast into the tundra and left to the mercy of wild reindeer.
By the time we landed at Anadyr airport, I was so exhausted, that in my rather confused state of mind those border guards had metamorphosed into Chukotkan reindeer in Red Army uniforms, waiting to pierce me with their antlers.
The plane door swung open and in marched two incredibly cheerful female border guards. They were full of smiles and chuckling away to themselves as they checked everyone’s papers. We obeyed. To my relief, instead of being looked on as villains, we were treated as VIPs. A delegation from the local administration greeted us and took us into town. We’d cleared the first hurdle. we were inside Chukotka.
The reclusive tycoon bought Chelsea football club earlier this summer The following day, Roman Abramovich flew in on his private jet. Mr Abramovich’s adviser Alexander contacted us at the hotel. We were ushered to a table in a quiet corner, and there he was, Roman Abramovich. He didn’t look anything like I’d imagined Russia’s second-richest man to look. He wore jeans, a white sweater, he had designer stubble. And there he sat, sipping a glass of water.
This was the perfect opportunity to break the ice. We chatted about football. It was a dangerous confession to make, but I admitted I wasn’t a Chelsea fan - I supported Spurs. “Ah, Tottenham,” he said, excitedly. “I nearly bought that.”
We filmed him on a visit to a whale hunters’ village, at a concert of Chukotkan throat singing, and as he inspected dozens of construction projects which he’s personally funding He told us we could travel with him on his helicopter around Chukotka. He was willing to be filmed, but that the interview would be brief.
“I cannot even talk properly to save myself from getting kneecapped by the Russian mafia. I have made billions with no effort and lots of panache. The only difference between a drug dealer and me is that my product is legal. I always attached myself to powerful patrons. That way I knew that I would never have to work for a living.” he says laughing.
“I am the first man to make a billion dollars without a drop of sweat.
In the early 1990s I befriended President Boris Yeltsin’s crony Boris Berezovsky. In 1995, Berezovsky loaned the government $100 million for 51% of Sibneft (’Siberian Oil’), Russia’s sixth biggest oil company worth $2.8 billion then (and $15 billion in 2003), and sold it to myself in another sham auction 18 months later for $110 million. I owned all the bidders in the auction. We robbed the government of $7.7 billion. We are actually worse than the Russian mafia.
“Russia’s Audit Chamber reported that the sale was conducted with ‘multiple legal violations’ and ’should be considered invalid’. Too little too late. In 2003, Berezovsky had to flee Russia, and the Blair government gave him political asylum. Labour loves billionaires, however dodgy. That is why I too ran to England and bought Chelsea with tax money.
“I broke company law by selling shares in Noyabrsk, Sibneft’s extraction arm, to Sibneft at discount. The buyers transferred their shares to Sibneft two months later. The way I conned workers out of their share vouchers and slashed their wages was just masterful. Putin set up tax havens inside Russia, whereby regional governors could offer inward investors huge tax breaks. I took full advantage of this by becoming governor of the province of Chukotka. Naturally I evaded regional taxes on Sibneft’s profits by selling oil at a high discount to subsidiary in Chukotka, which would then sell it to the end user at a hundred times the price. This gained me $500 million, far more than I spent on Chukotka, about $1 million. So the region lost $490 million net. ‘Profit without hard work’ is my mantra I am the first man to make a billion dollars without a drop of sweat..
“I bought Chelsea Football Club in July 2003 as it is the cheapest insurance policy in history. I still continue my crooked ways. I did lots of insider dealing on Chelsea shares, and seven dodgy offshore trusts’ ownership of Chelsea shares. After all great fortunes begin in crime. There are lots of rich, young people in Russia who like myself, Alexei Mordashov have never worked even for a day to put food on the table. We don’t live that long, so we spend it. That is easy. It is not billions that we had to work for. Why should we? We are Russian Oligarchs.
“You look at our faces you will be surprised. We don’t look like ordinary billionaires, because we aren’t. We look like either corrupt soviet bureaucrats or 35 year old charismatic scoundrels; because that’s who we are. Russian oligarchs like me did not create wealth. We actually didn’t create anything. We simply stole former Soviet property and have been leaching off it for the last 15 years.
“And the people who were capable of doing this were either corrupt Soviet bureaucrats in the right places at the right time or 21 year old college drop-outs like myself with shrewd, cruel. bone lazy minds and no fear. It’s because of us that Russia doesn’t produce anything but natural resources, extracted without any accountability or transparency. While we own castles in Britain and hundreds of billions of dollars, the total Russian federal budget is only 104 billion dollars a year, and Russian pensioners are forgoing toilet paper to save money. Is that enough for the interview?
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