Roberto’s past transfer deal shrouded in mystery

West Ham goalkeeper Roberto previously came to fame in 2011 where he became embroiled in a suspect third party ownership transfer deal involving a secretive offshore fund in Jersey.

A report in the Guardian at the time explained that Roberto’s move from Benfica to raised eyebrows since his new club had applied to the courts for voluntary administration in an effort to deal with a €110m (£96.5m) net debt.  Questions were asked how could the Portuguese club afford to buy a goalkeeper for €8.6m?

As a publicly-traded company, Benfica was obliged to declare to shareholders how the insolvent purchaser would pay for the player. It turned out that Zaragoza paid just €86,000 with the balance of more than €8.5m paid for by an unnamed investment fund that will retain the player’s economic rights.

The Spanish daily El País has claimed at the time that the fund was Quality Sports Investment and that according to “several sources” it was controlled by the Portuguese agent Jorge Mendes and the former Manchester United and Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon. Kenyon later confirmed that he and Mendes are acting as advisers to the fund.

Ther fund was based in the offshore jurisdiction of Jersey, meaning the identity of its investors were unknown.

While there is no suggestion whatever that there was or is anything dodgy or untoward in West Ham’s signing of Roberto in the summer.