Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano were signed for West Ham on Tuesday 15 years ago
The story started with tension and awkwardness and ended with the kind of drama that would make Hollywood blush.
On Tuesday 31 August 2006, fifteen years ago, Javier Mascherano and Carlos Tevez, both from Argentina, signed for West Ham United. They arrived from Brazil's Corinthians in a deal that was shrouded by mystery.
It would be the talk of the season, it would cast a shadow on the Premier League relegation battle, and even lead to legal proceedings that lasted for two years.
"If you make a sign like that, you should shout about it from all the rooftops."
Tevez was linked to a move from Chelsea after impressing at the World Cup in Germany that summer for Argentina. The pair suddenly appeared at Upton Park, looking quite stunned, and were spotted wearing shirts alongside Alan Pardew, Hammers boss.
The statement did not go into detail, stating only that they had signed permanent contracts. The thing that raised eyebrows was the suggestion that "all aspects of the transfer will remain confidentially and undisclosed".
"I was at work when I received a text message from a West Ham-supporting friend who said that we'd signed them both. I literally responded with: 'Yeah and the cows leapt over the moon.'" Daniel Hurley, author and editor of The Greatest Escape, tells BBC Sport.
"I am baffled that no one looked into [the transfer] further at the time. It is very strange to sign like that and then not want to discuss it. You should shout about signings like this from the rooftops.
After it was discovered that Tevez and Mascherano rights were partly held by Kia Joorabchian, an agent at Media Sports Investment (MSI), the club broke third-party ownership rules, it was revealed that the club had actually broken those rules.
Mascherano, who had only made five league appearances in East London, brought the issue to our attention.
They had already been purchased by an Icelandic businessman Eggert Magusson. Pardew was sacked and replaced with Alan Curbishley. West Ham was also embroiled in a relegation fight.
Tevez scored his first goal after 1,142 minutes in defeat by Spurs on March 4, two days after the club was officially charged with wrongdoing in relation to the deal. He had also scored victories over Middlesbrough Rovers and Blackburn Rovers.
Matt Upson, January signing, stated that although Carlos' English was not great, he had a competent interpreter who fit in with the lads."
Carlos was a good friend and would help him on the training grounds, but everybody accepted him because he was that kind of person.
"If Wigan or Watford violated the rules, we'd have been receiving a points deduction."
Carlos Tevez scored six goals during West Ham's nine last games of the 2006/07 season
The pressure was mounting at the bottom with West Ham's rivals requesting a deduction of points for the Tevez/Mascherano affair. They were fined 5.5 million by the Premier League, which was a record for that time. This happened just a day after beating Wigan, their relegation rivals, on 28 April.
Paul Jewell, Wigan’s boss at that time, said that "the timing of the decision annoyed him." They came to Wigan that day and were bouncing. They beat us by 3-0. This should have been addressed immediately after it was flagged up.
"I had someone from Premier League in my workplace, and I said that if it had been Wigan, Watford, or both, we would have been getting points deductions. The reason West Ham don't get one is because they're a big club. He said, "I agree with your opinion, but I won't say that publicly." They were hoping West Ham would go down.
Richard Scudamore, chief executive of Premier League, denied any hint of bias at the time.
Hurley says, "The punishment was not a points deduction at the point it was, it wasn't relegation." "Any deduction sends you down. I believe they made the decision too late to assume that we would be down." We kept winning."
After being 10 points behind 17th in March, the Hammers were left needing a point against Manchester United, who had been crowned champions in order to ensure safety on the last day.
"If it were fiction, you would think it was impossible."
Tevez was the one who would decide as he won the Old Trafford match to ensure West Ham's survival.
Hurley states, "If it were fiction, you would think it was unrealistic." It was very murky at the time because we didn't know if Tevez was ours or not. We hoped he would stay, especially after the game.
Instead, Sheffield United were relegated following a loss to Wigan on the final day. West Ham would then go to a tribunal. They were awarded a 20m out-of-court settlement in 2009 after it was determined that Tevez's goals had been the key difference in the outcome. In the summer 2007, Tevez, an Argentine, left for Manchester United.
Hurley states, "Nobody ever really talks to Mascherano with me." "But when we played Man United in the next year, Tevez's second return, he walks around on the pitch doing the Hammers’ sign. He was not even playing for us, he was with us only a few months.
Although he may have entered through the backdoor, he left an east-end icon.
