Media Sports Investment
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Media Sports Investment is the international fund of investors that runs Brazilian football (soccer) club Sport Club Corinthians Paulista.
Corinthians signed a controversial deal with MSI in 2004 that grants the company a large degree of control of the club, in exchange for large investments. The deal lasts for 10 years. This has brought many good quality players to the team, such as former Boca Juniors star Carlos Tévez, midfielders Marcelo Mattos, Gustavo Nery, Roger, Javier Mascherano and Carlos Alberto, and defenders Seba Dominguez and Marinho, as well as coaches Passarella, Márcio Bittencourt and Antonio Lopes.
At the beginning of the 2005-06 season, MSI was behind an attempt by Kia Joorabchian to take over English club West Ham United. The plan was officially abandoned in November of the same year, when agreement on a valuation of the club could not be reached. They were also rumoured to be considering a buyout of Aston Villa around the same time.
MSI was registered as a company in London on 31 August 2004 with Joorabchian and Nojan Bedroud listed as directors in filings at Companies House.
Rumours persist over the involvement of Russian oligarchs Roman Abramovich and Boris Berezovsky behind the scenes of MSI, with Chelsea FC owner Abramovich reputedly owning a 15% share of the investment group. [3]
On 31 August 2006, Kia Joorabchian's involvement with Corinthians looked to have resulted in the club's biggest stars, Javier Mascherano & Carlos Tevez, being loaned out to West Ham; instead it was confirmed that West Ham had in fact signed the players on a permanent deal, not a loan basis. All other details of the transfers were not disclosed. On 1 September 2006, the day after Javier Mascherano & Carlos Tevez made a permanent move to West Ham, the club have been in "exploratory discussions" over a possible takeover.
[edit] External links
- Media Sports Investments Official Site
- Site brought up to date 24 hours per day, with information on the teams of the Corinthians and its partner MSI
[edit] References
- ↑ West Ham takeover plan scrapped. bbc.co.uk (24 November 2005). Retrieved on 18 March 2006.
- ↑ Ryan Mills (18 August 2005). West Ham Soccer Club May Be Target of Takeover Bid. Bloomberg.com. Retrieved on 18 March 2006.
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