Potential no-go for Jo

Premier League considers third-party ownership illegal

By James Dall   Last updated: 18th June 2008   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Potential no-go for Jo

Jo: City move in doubt

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Manchester City's bid to bring CSKA Moscow striker Jo to Eastlands could be blocked by the Premier League.

Brazil international Jo appeared to be on the brink of signing for City with talks seemingly nearing a conclusion.

However, it has emerged that the deal may break down due to the Premier League's stance over third-party ownership.

Kia Joorabchian, who was at the centre of the controversy surrounding the ownership of Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano, is working as a consultant for Jo - who also played for the same Brazilian club as Tevez, Corinthians.

Rules

And a Premier League spokesman has confirmed that the signing of a player who is third-party owned is considered illegal.

Premier League spokesman Dan Johnson said in The Sun: "We are aware of the situation with Jo and the rules are very clear.

"At the Premier League AGM held two weeks ago it was agreed that third-party ownership of any player will not be allowed.

Integrity

"While that situation is common in countries like Spain and Portugal, we agreed that it is not tolerable here.

"We want to ensure no one can accuse us of compromising the integrity of the competition so we have stated that third-party ownership is illegal.

"We believe this is in the best interests of the Premier League and our clubs and we think we are economically strong enough to impose it."