In 2006 Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano shocked the footballing
world by moving from Brazilian side Corinthians to West Ham United.
The pair were seen as two of the game’s brightest prospects, and
although Alan Pardew had finished 9th the previous season it was
seen as a major — if not surprising — coup for the club.
However, by the end of the campaign it was revealed the pair were
owned by MSI and Global Soccer Agencies, not Corinthians.
In signing them West Ham had broken FA rule U18
which stated: "No club shall enter into a contract which enables
any other party to that contract to acquire the ability materially
to influence its policies or the performance of its teams in league matches
or in any (other) competitions.”
The Hammers were subsequently fined £5.5million, and TPO was considered no longer an issue.
Fast forward to August 2016 and West Ham were once again dabbling in the South
American market when they completed a deal for Jonathan Calleri
from Deportivo Maldonado,
To be clear, Maldonado own Calleri’s rights.
However, the deal is still clouded in ambiguity.
Maldonado play in the second division of Uruguayan football and average a crowd of around 208 people.
As if that was not bizarre enough, Calleri is yet
to play a single game for the club.
In fact, Deportivo boast a number of high profile players
that while signed to the club never actually made a competitive
appearance including: Geronomio Rulli, Alex Sandro, Thiago Heleno and Willian José.
As bizarre is the fact this spree of high profile signings followed
directly after the club was purchased by foreign investors.
Just who owns Deportivo Maldonado remains unclear,
but a report from Bloomberg in 2014 tied it to Malcolm Caine
and London-based lawyer Graham Shear.
They purchased the club in 2010, and described their investment as an attempt to
improve Deportivo’s standing, with Caine telling Bloomberg that
the club, “pays its players in accordance with the contractual
obligations and fully accounts for and performs all tax and other statutory requirements.”
FIFA officially banned Third Party Ownership in 2014.
To date four clubs – Santos, Sevilla, the Belgian club
Sint-Truidense and FC Twente – have been fined for breaching TPO
rules, which came a year after five South American clubs – Uruguay‘s
Institución Atlética Sud América and Argentina’s Central Córdoba,
Independiente, Racing and Rosario Central – were also fined
after being found to ​ have employed “bridge transfers” which
involve the sale of a player from one club to another via a third club for which he never plays.
To date, no charges have been brought against Maldonado.
However, that has not stopped allegations from surfacing.
Some believe the club is a holding pad for South
American talent, with theowner’s decision to purchase a Uruguayan club also holding relevance.
The country’s tax rate is significantly lower than
neighbouring South American countries, meaning any player sales
will yield a greater profit for those involved.
Given Sam Allardyce claimed West Ham exploited TPO rules when
signing Enner Valencia — a claim David Sullivan vehemently denies
— it seems FIFA’s regulations may once again need revising.
Speaking to the Guardian, Pippo Russo, a sociologist from Florence
University who has investigated third-party ownership in South America and beyond said.
“I think that nothing has really changed.
In my opinion, this is the same as the battle against doping,” he said.
“When the authorities ban a substance, the scientists are two or three steps ahead.
The same applies in third-party ownership: when Fifa introduces a new rule against this
practice, the investors are always two or three steps in advance.”