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.
