West Ham United fans will certainly remember Jonathan Calleri. The Argentine striker sounded like an exciting signing for the 2016/17 season, but with only one goal scored in 19 appearances, he ended up leaving the club.
The player has never really manage to settle himself at a club, and that’s what UOL ‘s Rafael Reis talks about today. He writes that Calleri has signed for his fifth side in three and a half years, and there’s a good reason for that.
The striker has his career managed by agent Juan Figer, who uses an Uruguayan second division side called Maldonado to register his players.
Figer keeps loaning Calleri from Maldonado to other clubs, always demanding a loan fee, and patiently waits until someone shows up with a big offer to sign him permanently.
Rafael Reis says that the Figer group is happy with the situation, since the commission from the loan deals is giving them enough profit.
Since being bought by Maldonado in a €11m deal in 2016, Calleri has been loaned to São Paulo, West Ham, Las Palmas, Alavés and Espanyol.
It’s claimed that São Paulo, Las Palmas and Alavés all wanted to buy him permanently, but didn’t have enough money, as Figer want at least to recover his initial investment on top of all the loan fees which have been paid.
West Ham are said to be the only exception in the list, since they’re the only club where he couldn’t really succeed, having a disappointing spell.
However, the interesting thing is that the Hammers would probably be the only ones who had the conditions to afford the permanent signing.