Joorabchian's guide to transfer negotiations

Don't believe everything you see when it comes to transfers.

Take the example of the Carlos Tevez transfer saga, expertly marshalled by his "adviser" Kia Joorabchian.

First of all, Tevez started to want out of City after Joorabchian had fallen out with ex City CEO Gary Cook. Joorabchian had been a pivotal figure at the club.

He helped to bring Cook in in the first place - under Thaksin Shinawatra's regime - and brokered the deals for several players who moved to the club, such as Jo, Paolo Zabaleta, Nedum Onuoha and Tevez himself.

But then he got frozen out by Cook and the club's new Abu Dhabi owners, and became angry. Tevez then also started agitating for a move.

Anyway, back to the latest transfer negotiations we hear so much about. Corinthians "came in" for the striker in the summer.

Their £35m bid was accepted by City, but the Brazilian club failed to prove they had the money.

Was the bid legitimate, or was it an attempt to provoke bids from other clubs?

It's worth noting that Joorabchian once part-owned Corinthians and is a close personal friend of the club's president, Andrés Sanchez.

Then onto the latest bids. Joorabchian, Tevez and AC Milan president Adriano Galliano were pictured together in Brazil as they negotiated a transfer.

Worth noting that the picture was distributed to Gazzetta dello Sport by Joorabchian. Was the same summer ruse being used again?

Inter Milan have also made a bid apparently, despite their sporting director Marco Branca dismissing a bid for the player out of hand in the summer.

Smoke and mirrors...