Why Jamie Carragher is feuding with agent Kia Joorabchian
Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher has ended up in a bizarre war of words with agent Kia Joorabchian, who is known to have close ties to Everton owner Farhad Moshiri.
The feud kicked off this week when Carragher, who grew up an Everton fan despite going on to make nearly 750 appearances for Liverpool, openly questioned Joorabchian’s influence at Goodison Park in recent years as the club have increasingly struggled.
Everton have spent vast amounts on transfers since Moshiri bought his initial stake in early 2016. But The Toffees have always finished in the bottom half of the Premier League since the start of the 2019/20 campaign and only narrowly avoided relegation last season.
This season has again turned into a relegation battle, with manager Frank Lampard dismissed in the wake of a defeat to fellow strugglers West Ham at the weekend that left Everton 19th in the table, having won only three of 20 league games played.
Carragher appeared on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football at the start of this week, airing after Lampard had been sacked, and called Everton the ‘the worst run club in the country’.
He also took aim at Joorabchian, claiming the agent to have an ‘unhealthy relationship’ with Moshiri.
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talkSPORT contributor and former Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan later went on to suggest that Joorabchian does have ‘Moshiri’s ear’, although he put the responsibility on the Everton owner when it comes to acting on any advice or recommendations he might receive.
“I do believe Kia is quite influential with him,” Jordan said. “There’s nothing wrong with that, but I just don’t think the decisions he’s been making on the back of Kia’s advice, if that is the case, have been particularly good.”
Joorabchian was booked as a guest later on that same show with Jordan and he seemed to take the criticism well, saying that he respected the opinion and labelling Jordan an ‘educated person’.
But then the agent, who oversaw the infamous deal that took Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano to West Ham in 2006, took aim at Carragher for his comments.
“…unlike someone like Jamie Carragher, who unfortunately lives in a glass house, spits out of car windows and has no education in terms of his background when he makes a comment.”
Joorabchian claims to have only ever transferred three of his own players to Everton in recent years, adding that Carlo Ancelotti is the only manager he has recommended to Moshiri and that other advice has been turned down or not acted upon.
“I’ve done three transfers of my players over the course of Farhad’s tenure at Everton,” he insisted.
“Those three were Richarlison from Watford, which was a very successful transfer, a free transfer of Bernard, who came from Shakhtar Donetsk when his contract finished, and he was a player who wasn’t a complete disaster and did very well. Then we were involved in the Anwar El Ghazi loan – unfortunately that didn’t work out for them because there was a change of manager and when that change occurred, Anwar wasn’t in the new manager’s plans.
“We had Carlo Ancelotti who was the only manager they’ve ever taken on a recommendation.
“We always do the same as we do with any club in the Premier League; every time someone needs a manager and we have a client, we always present our clients.”
Joorabchian also claimed he is ‘much busier’ with other clubs than Everton and that his agency has a player in ‘almost every other’ Premier League club.
Carragher didn’t let it lie and hit back later on Twitter.
“Kia, there is no need to get personal, I’m just analysing your role in football clubs!” he said, going on to make further claims about the agent’s record.
“Involved in helping Everton to the bottom of the Premier League. Involved at QPR, which ended with relegation. Your signings at Arsenal took them to eighth, now they’ve gone, they’re top.”