Mascherano to Leave West Ham

The Times, in a story claiming Juventus are keen to sign Mascherano, claim that in a recent meeting Eggert Magnusson told MSI that the player had no part to play at West Ham in 2007. The paper also claim that it might be possible for Mascherano to play for more than two clubs in 12 months if the FA and the Italian FA, or perhaps the Argentine FA — agree to waive the FIFA rule.

It seems a very unlikely thing for the West Ham chairman to have said, unless he is desperate to reduce the player wage bill. Again it appears that footballer's agents are trying to engineer transfers in order to line their own pockets. The clue in The Times story is the claim that "MSI may argue a case of restraint of labour" to get around the FIFA regulations. It sounds like they are already laying the groundwork through The Times.