Kia Joorabchian has lashed out at Jamie Carragher over comments about his influence at crisis club Everton.
Speaking on Monday night after Everton sacked Frank Lampard, Carragher questioned the “unhealthy relationship” between Joorabchian and Toffees owner Farhad Moshiri.
“I said on this programme six to 12 months ago Everton are the worst run club in the country, and it wasn’t a flippant remark – I believed it,” said Carragher. “You start with the owner, Farhad Moshiri, he doesn’t know what he’s doing but he’s got a lot of money. He’s put a lot of money in. He’s got a very unhealthy relationship with Kia Joorabchian, and that partnership has caused a lot of problems at Everton.”
But the agent hit back on Wednesday as he appeared on talkSPORT, defending his dealings with the club while letting rip at Carragher.
Joorabchian said: “When Simon [Jordan] says something I respect it because he’s an educated person.
“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, who previously fell afoul of Sir Alex Ferguson when taking Carlos Tevez to and from Manchester United, continued: “I’ve done three transfers of my players [to Everton] over the course of Farhard’s tenure at Everton.
“Richarlison, who was very successful. The free transfer of Bernard from Shakhtar, and again he was a player who wasn’t a complete disaster and he did very well.
(
Getty Images)
“We had Carlo Ancelotti which was the only manager they’ve taken [from my clients] as a recommendation and we always do the same with every club in the Premier League if they’re looking for a manager – we always present our client.
“We were also involved in the El-Ghazi loan which was part of the Lucas Digne transfer and an FFP scenario and unfortunately that didn’t work out due to the change of manager and he wasn’t in the new manager’s plans.”
Joorabchian continued, rejecting Carragher’s assertion that his relationship with Moshiri has been unhealthy, citing Frank Lampard’s appointment at the expense of Vitor Pereira last January as an example.
“I have been busier in other clubs. Last year I recommended Vitor Pereira and they wanted Lampard and that was very much a board decision.
“It was even mentioned on Sky that [Everton chairman] Bill Kenwright and [Everton CEO] Denise Barrett-Baxendale have nothing to do there.
“Jamie said that and, again, people who say things like that haven’t done their homework and misinform the public and that’s really unfair for those people. I know for a fact that Farhad didn’t have a sole vote on the manager last time. He created a board, Denise Barrett-Baxendale was very much involved.
(
Getty Images)
“In the summer we offered them many players but they turned them all down. Tarkowski, Coady, Maupay, McNeil and the list goes on. All the loans and all the signings they did were done purely by them – we didn’t have any involvement whatsoever.”
Continuing his defence, Joorabchain also noted a number of players whom he insisted had been offered to club chiefs for transfer in recent years – but who had not ended up on Merseyside.
“The point is, what is our job? Our job is to present what we have as a client list and say, ‘This is what we have’. And Everton haven’t taken any of our advice. So we can’t be that influential.
“In the past we offered Bruno Guimaraes for £16m when he was leaving Athletico Paranaense. They didn’t like him and went for [Jean-Philippe] Gbamin. Diego Carlos was offered at £11million before he went to Sevilla and he’s now ended up at Aston Villa. We offered [Real Madrid defender] Eder Militao when he was leaving Sao Paulo.”
Managerless Everton currently sit 19th in the Premier League table with just three wins from 20 games so far this term.
