said that it constitutes a way of sharing the burden of investment in a player. The 'super agent' Pini Zahavi, himself associated with third-party ownership and the companies that invested in players, said: "In England they don't understand it at all. It's easier to buy a player who you are unsure about for £10m if you are sharing the risk with a partner. Now, if the player becomes top-drawer and is sold for £30m, then of course you may feel stupid only to own half. But if the player turns out to be merely average or a failure, if he cannot even be sold, you will say, 'Fantastic, the disaster was not only mine'. That's exactly the way it works." The businessman Kia Joorabchian, heavily involved in the third-party ownership of players, defended the arrangement, calling it "the South American model and a model that appears all over Europe". After the Premiership introduced rules against third-party ownership, lawyer Jean-Louis Dupont claimed that it was illegal. Examples Corinthians In 2004 the Media Sports Investments fund, founded and headed by Kia Joorabchian, purchased a controlling 51% of Corinthians in a 10-year deal. In the wake of MSI's involvement a stream of new players arrived at the club, players who were engaged to play for Corinthians but whose economic rights were partly or wholly owned by the investment fund. By 2006 MSI was listing as its investments not just Corinthians itself but also the players Carlos Tevez, Marcelo Mattos, Gustavo Nery, Roger, Javier Mascherano, Carlos Alberto, Sebastián Domínguez, Marinho, Rafael Moura and Nilmar. Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano On 31 August 2006 Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano moved to West Ham United in the English Premier League from Brazilian side Corinthians for an undisclosed fee. It subsequently emerged that Tevez's economic rights were owned by Media Sports Investments and a second company, Just Sports Inc., while Mascherano was jointly owned by Global Soccer Agencies and Mystere Services Ltd. All four companies were represented by Kia Joorabchian and the deal was brokered by MSI, whose president Joorabchian had been until June 2006. Due to irregularities in the player's contracts, West Ham United were eventually fined a record £5.5 million by the Premier League. Despite the fine, Tevez was allowed to continue playing for West Ham United. Both players remained in England after the controversy; Tevez moved to Manchester United while Mascherano went to play