Look a little closer and the story becomes more complicated. An investigation by Bloomberg in claimed the mysterious owners were none other than the English racehorse owner Malcolm Caine and the London-based lawyer Graham Shear, who became the president and vice-president respectively of a club who have been member-owned since Third-party ownership TPO was banned in most countries by that stage, although Fifa was slow to act and did not outlaw it until December When contacted by the Guardian, Barnett — who co-owns several horses with Caine, including one called Curbyourenthusiasm — denied any involvement with Maldonado.
Caine, who remains the owner of the club having signed a year agreement in , is said to have lost money since investing, having built a training ground and established a youth team. Therefore players are able to sign a deal with a lower league club such as Maldonado and then be loaned out to a larger side involved in the Copa Libertadores in the hope they will be scouted by a big club in Europe.
In , in an effort to stop the practice, the Uruguayan football association increased the tax rate on player trades to This was the general trend I forecasted when the rules were introduced by Fifa. Deportivo Maldonado was a pioneer in arranging this sort of business. This is not the first time there have been claims Barnett and Stellar Group may have indulged in schemes to get around third-party ownership. Dilrosun and Kongolo were 15 at the time the companies were established.
Although the establishment of the companies is permitted, Fifa rules state it is illegal for players to sign a contract with any agent until they turn Again, there is no suggestion of rules having been breached.
The club insist there is no obligation to buy and they have not broken any rules. He broke into the first team at Estudiantes and was bought by Maldonado in Less than three weeks later, Sociedad announced on their website that Rulli had joined on a permanent deal until , although the move will not be completed until January. You are not the only ones.
