Transfer newsWest Ham United have pulled off the summer's most unexpected transfer coup by signing Argentina's Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano from Corinthians in a deal as intriguing as it promises to be exciting, as the Upton Park club will pocket only a tiny proportion of the huge fees the players are expected to attract in the Premiership shop window if and when they are then sold on.
West Ham paid a nominal fee for Tevez and Mascherano, and sources confirmed last night that Media Sports Investments (MSI), a London-based international fund of investors that runs Corinthians, placed the players at Upton Park on the guarantee they will get a huge cut of any sale.
West Ham are obliged to sell if they get an offer of €50 million for either player, or hand MSI the same sum to retain their services.
In the meantime, West Ham benefit from the talents of Tevez, a striker, and Mascherano, a defensive midfielder. It represents an enormous coup to have landed two members of Argentina's World Cup team and signals the scale of the club's revival, coming three summers after relegation from the Premiership and the gradual sale of stars such as Joe Cole and Michael Carrick.
Real Madrid are believed to have made a late attempt to get Tevez and Mascherano, offering Ronaldo and Julio Baptista to Corinthians in part-exchange, but MSI pushed ahead with the West Ham deal.
It is understood West Ham paid little or nothing for Tevez and Mascherano, but may fear they are being used effectively as a shop front. The club said details would remain private, but insisted they had "beaten off some of Europe's biggest clubs to secure the services of the duo".
"There is no way West Ham would act as a feeder club for others," said the club's media spokesman, Phil Hall. "They are exciting signings for us, but, of course, if we were offered major fees for the players at a later date we would have to consider it - as we would with other players."
MSI are confident Tevez and Mascherano's value will soar after a spell with a second-tier Premiership club, allowing them to get maximum return on their investment. They had paid $33 million to get the pair to Corinthians, and believe in the long-term they will recoup considerably more than $57 million, a sum MSI are thought to have turned down for Tevez after the World Cup.
MSI are likely to have emphasised to Tevez and Mascherano the potential benefits of starting their European careers outside a big club, following in the footsteps of Brazilians such as Ronaldo and Ronaldinho, who began with PSV Eindhoven and Paris St Germain respectively.
Transfer deadline: Major moves
Javier Mascherano (Corinthians to West Ham) undisclosed
Carlos Tevez (Corinthians to West Ham undisclosed
Niko Kranjcar (Hajduk Split to Portsmouth)£3.5m
Steed Malbranque (Fulham to Tottenham)£2m
Kevin Kilbane (Everton to Wigan)undisclosed
Andy Cole (Manchester City to Portsmouth)£500,000
Jason Euell (Charlton to Middlesbrough) undisclosed
Dwight Yorke (Sydney to Sunderland)£200,000
Jan Kromkamp (Liverpool to PSV Eindhoven) undisclosed
