Kia Joorabchian

Kiavash Joorabchian is an Iranian-born British-educated businessman largely involved in association football. In the register of directorships at Companies House in London, Joorabchian gives two nationalities, Canadian and British, born on 14 July 1971.

Although routinely described in the press as a football agent, Joorabchian is not a licensed agent. The involvement of unlicensed agents in transfers in the English Premier League is prohibited by the Football Association. Joorabchian does not himself claim to be an agent, saying "I think the agency business is very different". He describes his business as advising players on their rights and clubs on transfers and contracts.

Joorabchian is also involved in the 'third-party' ownership of players, describing himself as an investment manager. In October 2008, he said, "I manage the investment group and obviously when the investment group is profitable, as fund manager, you also get a cut". According to Joorabchian his father's uncle had once run the biggest car manufacturer in the Middle East. The Joorabchian family emigrated from Iran following the fall of the Shah in 1979. They went to the United Kingdom and then Canada, returning to England when Joorabchian was 16. His father ran car dealerships, including Medway Autos in Kent.

Joorabchian was educated at Shiplake College in Oxfordshire and then at a school in Golders Green, north London. He went on to study chemistry and business studies at Queen Mary and Westfield College, University of London, dropping out after his second year.

He has supported Arsenal Football Club since his childhood and later kept a corporate box at their Emirates Stadium.

Early career, American Capital and Kommersant Joorabchian worked first for his father and then as a trader at the International Petroleum Exchange in London.

A year later and six months before the 1999 Russian legislative election, American Capital bought 85% of the Russian newspaper Kommersant. After a month Kommersant's ownership passed to the oligarch Boris Berezovsky, who was widely suspected to have been behind American Capital's bid for the paper, something denied by Joorabchian who was said to have given assurances that he was not working on anyone else's behalf. In 2005 Corinthians won its fourth Brazilian title.

The Tevez transfer was brokered by the Argentinian football agent Fernando Hidalgo, who was a partner in the company HAZ Sports with Pini Zahavi. Zahavi, responsible for numerous football deals, including the acquisition of Chelsea Football Club by Roman Abramovich, acted as a broker for MSI.

The source of the money behind MSI was a subject of considerable speculation. MSI responded by saying that the judge's actions were "absurd, arbitrary and lacking legal backing",

The Brazilian court papers setting out the evidence on which the warrants of arrest were issued stated: "MSI belongs and has always belonged to the accused, Boris Berezovsky". Berezovsky denied any business connection with Joorabchian or MSI. There had already been a public deterioration in relations between the directors of the club and its investors centering on the involvement of MSI and Joorabchian in the team's affairs, and the fact that the club had been left owning only five members of the playing squad. Tevez and Mascherano had been transferred to West Ham United and there had been seven different managers in 18 months.

The warrant for Joorabchian's arrest was suspended by the Brazilian authorities in August 2008.

In April 2014, The judge totally absolved the whole case saying there was never anything done wrong by anyone in the case at all. "In this case, there is no proof of a single offense, nor is it pointed out that the alleged group ever have had any intention or interest in the committing any crimes," added the judge.

Tevez, Mascherano and West Ham United Joorabchian stepped down as president of Media Sports Investments in June 2006. It was reported at the time that Joorabchian retained an investment in Tevez and Mascherano, whose economic rights were described as being owned by MSI. while Mascherano was jointly owned by Global Soccer Agencies and Mystere Services Ltd. All four companies were represented by Joorabchian. Zahavi had an association over a number of years with Global Soccer Agencies, owners of a half share in Mascherano. The takeover floundered when it proved impossible to agree a valuation for the club Patarkatsishvili announced that he was considering becoming involved in the bid.

Although the capture of Tevez and Mascherano was reported At that time the practice was permitted as long as the investing party exercised no influence over the club's playing or transfer policy. It has been reported that Joorabchian in fact retained the power to transfer either player at any time during their contracts.

In April 2007 West Ham was fined a record £5.5 million by the Premier League for entering into third-party contracts whose existence they did not reveal in the knowledge that, in the words of the Premier League's findings, "the FAPL at the very least may not – and in all probability would not – have approved of such contracts". When Tevez was instrumental in West Ham's avoiding relegation at the end of the 2006–7 season the position was legally challenged by the relegated club, Sheffield United, on the ground that Tevez should have been ineligible to play. The claim was eventually settled out of court in March 2009 with West Ham paying Sheffield United £20 million over five years.

Speculation has subsequently linked Joorabchian with the takeover of the football clubs Fulham, in early 2007, and Southampton, in January 2008.

Transfer of Tevez to Manchester United and then to Manchester City In August 2007 Carlos Tevez moved from West Ham United to Manchester United. The deal was subject to a protracted dispute with West Ham claiming that the player was registered to them and contracted until June 2010. The Premier League insisted that negotiations should be "done directly" with the club who should receive the fee for any transfer. Joorabchian maintained that MSI and Just Sports Inc retained the economic rights to the player and that the deal had been negotiated with the "knowledge and permission" of West Ham.

Asked for a ruling by the Football Association and the Premier League, FIFA judged that the matter should be referred to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. MSI and Just Sports Inc then issued a writ in order to "compel West Ham to release the registration of Carlos Tevez in accordance with contracts entered into between the parties".

The threat of action in the High Court was avoided by a settlement that saw West Ham receive a fee of £2 million for Tévez's registration.

In September 2009 Tevez signed for Manchester City in a deal removing him from third-party ownership sometimes reported as being worth £47 million to the companies owning his economic rights, although that amount was disputed by Joorabchian who called the story "inaccurate and misleading".

Legal dispute with West Ham United In 2008, Joorabchian became engaged in a legal dispute with West Ham United over what he said were unmet payments by the club of £4.5 million and £2.6 million relating to Tevez. Joorabchian claimed that he brokered a resolution between West Ham and the two companies, MSI and Just Sports Inc, who owned the player's economic rights and who initially refused to cancel that third-party arrangement as requested by the Premier League as part of their findings of April 2007. Potentially Tevez would not have played in the final two games of the 2006–7 season.

Joorabchian stated that the payments were to cover costs, the player's salary, expenses and a loan fee, as well as £2 million he claimed to have paid to West Ham for Tevez's registration as part of the deal that saw the player transferred to Manchester United in August 2007.

Defence of 'Third-Party' ownership Tevez's ownership and the role of Joorabchian in English football remained highly controversial throughout the period up to the player's transfer to Manchester City in September 2009. One high-ranking official had called it, "an unedifying trade in young people that rips the heart out of clubs which try to develop players". Joorabchian admitted to having an informal association with Manchester City in October 2008. The deal was reportedly part of an agreement reached with Benfica president Luís Filipe Vieira the previous year at the time of Ramires' transfer to Benfica from Cruzeiro in Brazil.

Ramires completed his move to Chelsea on 13 August 2010 on a four-year contract for a fee of €22 million. It is thought that Joorabchian would receive around €11 million of this fee; Benfica also revealed in its financial report that the club had a net debt of €5,479,526 to Jazzy Limited, excessed €479,526 by €11 million minus €6 million.

Sports Invest UK Limited Joorabchian is the sole director of Sports Invest UK Limited, with registered FIFA agent Nojan Bedroud. The company was a creditor of Portsmouth F.C. for £600,000.

Everton Football Club Joorabchian's involvement with Everton in January 2022 was matched with protests and banners outside Goodison Park.

Reading Football Club Joorabchian is also involved with Reading officially as an advisor to the club and the owner, when asked if he is involved at the club in January 2022, Reading manager Veljko Paunovic said "He's friends with the owner. He's known as an advisor not only with our owner. He's been involved in football for a long time so that's all I can say.".

Other business interests An analysis of Joorabchian's other business interests undertaken by the Financial Times in 2006 suggested that he was at that time a director of 10 UK companies, many of them lossmaking, including Karmaa Racing, a horse racing company, and Karmaa, a kick-boxing club in Chalk Farm, London. His largest listed interest was at that time a car dealership, Greens of Rainham.