Carlitos’ way: the Carlos Tevez situation explained

Ever since he came to England, the word saga has never been too far from the name Carlos Tevez. Lauded for his ferocity and energy on the pitch, the Argentine striker has found himself the unwitting cause of frantic legal wrangling off it.

Simply put, Tevez's situation is different, because instead of being owned by a club, he is contracted to a firm called Media Sports Investments (MSI). This started when Kia Joorabchian, the British-Iranian businessman who is one of the firm's directors, bought Tevez in summer 2005, taking him from Boca Juniors to Corinthians, the Sao Paulo side, for £14m. There, Carlitos as he was known, scored 31 goals in 52 games, became the club's captain, and won the 2005 Brazilian championship.

The arrangement is not uncommon in South America, where clubs will approach a third party - in this case businessman Joorabchian - to help finance players. Joorabchian himself explains: "That person buys the player outright, invests in the player, maybe helps with education and development, and the club sign him from you; they take the registration. The rights on any resale belong to the individual or company who has put up the money."

It was under those circumstances that, after a disagreement with the Brazilian club, Tevez, along with fellow Argentine Javier Mascherano, moved to West Ham on transfer deadline day in August 2006. Still owned by MSI, the players' contracts were unique in the Premier League and became the subject of legal intrigue. The players were representing West Ham, but were not owned by the club.

In early 2007 Mascerano's situation changed. After proving a flop at West Ham, Liverpool stepped in and paid Joorbachian around £10m for the player. He is now owned by the Merseyside club.

United paid Joorabchian £9m for control of the player from 2007 to 2009

But things got even more confusing for Tevez when West Ham just escaped relegation thanks to a goal he scored on the final day of the season. Sheffield Utd, the club that went down, then took the matter of Tevez's contract up. Though Tevez's registration was in order, the Premier League found West Ham guilty of breaking rules on 'third party influence' and 'full disclosure', and fined the East London club £5.5m. Then, after years spent in courtrooms, West Ham were obliged to reach a settlement with Sheffield Utd. They will pay the Yorkshire club a total of £20m, to be split over the next five seasons.

After helping the Hammers avoid the drop Tevez joined Manchester United. The Manchester club paid Joorabchain £9m for a two-year loan deal which gave them control of the player from 2007 to 2009. As part of the deal they agreed to pay a further £22m in 2009 to make the deal permanent and take complete control of the player.

If United do not make the second payment, Tevez's registration will return to Joorabchian. However, new Premier League rules forbid third party ownership, which means Joorabchian will not be able to maintain his relationship with the player if he stays in England.

So the bids from United and their Premier League rivals are all to purchase Tevez from Joorabchian permanently. United are being held to a deal they agreed two years ago, other clubs can negotiate with Joorabchian directly and agree their own price.

Tevez has made no secret of his desire to stay at Old Trafford, where he is both adored and settled, and he has just turned down a £40m move to Real Madrid. But whether or not he stays will ultimately depend on whether Sir Alex Ferguson is prepared to pay a businessman £22m. ·