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City's Jo deal hit by ownership rules

18/06/2008

Manchester City have become the latest Premier League club to be forced to deal with the issue of third-party player ownership as they continue in their attempts to bring Jo to Eastlands.

While City have been keen to sign the Brazilian forward for some time now, with CSKA Moscow's £20 million asking price seemingly no problem, the move has been placed in jeopardy due to new Premier League rules.

Following the ongoing saga of Carlos Tevez, who is owned by Kia Joorabchian but plays for Manchester United, the league's officials have brought into effect new laws against the third-party ownership of players.

And, with Jo's advisor also Joorabchian, it is looking increasingly unlikely that new City manager Mark Hughes will be starting the new campaign with the 25-year-old up front.

However, the club's executive chairman Gary Cook has stated that they are still interested in the player and are currently in discussions with the relevant parties.

"Manchester City is fully aware of the rules regarding third party ownership of players and any transfers will be completed to Premier League regulations," he told the club's website.

At the same time, City's aim of securing the services of Barcelona forward Ronaldinho moved a step closer to being realized after fellow suitors AC Milan announced that they are not able to compete with the Manchester team's pay offer for the Brazilian.