Tevez saga finally comes to an end

The painfully long Tevez saga between West Ham and Sheffield United has finally been ended after an out of court settlement was agreed.

Since Carlos Tevez had helped West Ham secure Premier League survival at the end of the 2006/7 season, Sheffield United had been arguing for compensation, claiming the Argentinian had been the key factor in their relegation to the Championship.

The main question asked at the time by those unhappy in Tevez’s role in helping West Ham secure important wins towards the end of the season, was whether he was eligible to play in the first place.

A joint statement was released on Monday morning on behalf of West Ham and Sheffield United claiming that a settlement had been reached. Although no exact figures had been disclosed, a compensation package of around £15m in instalments paid towards Sheffield United has been calculated.

A tribunal had been set up in attempt to investigate the extent of how much compensation should be rewarded, and would have started on Monday but is now not necessary.

Sheffield United chairman Kevin McCabe said the following earlier today:
‘We are happy and satisfied with the settlement with West Ham.

‘Throughout the finalisation of the terms for the agreement, the discussions were friendly, co-operative and in the best of spirit with both the Blades and Hammers advisory teams.

‘We are two clubs with a fantastic footballing history who now want to move on and focus on the business of playing football – hopefully for us against the Hammers in the Premier League next season.’

Although being fined £5.5m by governing bodies shortly after achieving Premier League survival in 2007, West Ham must now pay towards Sheffield United who are aiming to regain their top flight status.