1. Kiavash Joorabchian is an Iranian-born British-educated businessman largely involved in association football.
26 Facts About Kia Joorabchian
1. 2.
Kia Joorabchian describes his business as advising players on their rights and clubs on transfers and contracts.
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Kia Joorabchian is involved in the 'third-party' ownership of players, describing himself as an investment manager.
4.
In 2009 it was reported that the unnamed investors represented by Kia Joorabchian were understood to own the economic rights to 60 or 70 players across Europe and South America.
5.
Kia Joorabchian was born in Tehran, Iran, as the son of Iranian car-dealer businessman, Mohammed Kia Joorabchian.
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The Kia Joorabchian family emigrated from Iran following the fall of the Shah in 1979.
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Kia Joorabchian's father ran car dealerships, including Medway Autos in Kent.
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Kia Joorabchian was educated at Shiplake College in Oxfordshire and then at a school in Golders Green, north London.
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Kia Joorabchian went on to study chemistry and business studies at Queen Mary and Westfield College, University of London, dropping out after his second year.
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Kia Joorabchian has supported Arsenal Football Club since his childhood and later kept a corporate box at their Emirates Stadium.
11.
Kia Joorabchian is married to Brazilian lawyer and restaurateur Tatiana Alonso.
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Kia Joorabchian worked first for his father and then as a trader at the International Petroleum Exchange in London.
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Kia Joorabchian became involved in the stock market and fund management, moving to New York City and establishing an investment company, American Capital LLC, based in Manhattan but registered in Delaware.
14.
In 2004, Kia Joorabchian founded Media Sports Investments to make a partnership with Brazilian football club Corinthians.
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Kia Joorabchian himself was described by Brazilian authorities as "trying, at all costs, to hide knowledge of the people and businesses involved in the transactions".
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MSI responded by saying that the judge's actions were "absurd, arbitrary and lacking legal backing", while Kia Joorabchian denied any wrongdoing and maintained that all payments made to Corinthians were "cleared through and approved by the Brazilian Central Bank".
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The warrant for Kia Joorabchian's arrest was suspended by the Brazilian authorities in August 2008.
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Kia Joorabchian stepped down as president of Media Sports Investments in June 2006.
19.
Kia 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.
20.
Kia 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.
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Kia Joorabchian's continued opacity on the question of the identity of those behind the companies he represented was a point of particular discussion.
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Kia Joorabchian himself offered a defence of the arrangement, calling it "the South American model and a model that appears all over Europe".
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Kia Joorabchian admitted to having an informal association with Manchester City in October 2008.
24.
Kia Joorabchian was involved in the leaking of Carlos Tevez's transfer request to Manchester City on 11 December 2010, by revealing the news to the Sunday Mirror newspaper.
25.
On 12 January 2010, it was reported by outlets such as ESPN that Kia Joorabchian had been appointed to the position of "Football Advisor" at the club, and would be leading a clear-out of players, bringing in talented youth from around the world.
26.
Kia Joorabchian's largest listed interest was at that time a car dealership, Greens of Rainham.