This is from http://www.football-rumours.co.uk/watford-rumours.php 30 Apr 2014 10:52:31 Talented Udinese forward Nicolas Lopez is expected to be sent to sister club Watford for the 2014/15 season 30 Apr 2014 13:36:18 No he isn't, while we would love him there. he's co owned by Roma so there would be some issues I reckon. Whay I want to know is how can two clubs own a player? When West Ham United had Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano they had problems for this. Wikipedia explains this for Italy well, but the idea of two clubs holding a contract and the player being registered to one is odd. I see pre-contract type things in England for players near to the ned of a contract with one team, but that is the individual footballer making the contract not two clubs.
The simple answer is that the top half of Lopez (above the waist) is owned by Roma and they can play him, but he can only pass and score with headers and chest. The bottom half is owned by Udinese and Lopez can control the ball, pass and score with the legs and feet. Roma and Udinese plan to play him on alternative weekends.......thus are the vagaries of Italian football.
I seem to remember that Angella and Fabrinni were both in that category before we signed them. They were owned 50:50 by Udinese and Empoli - I can remember taxing my brain trying get a handle on how it worked, but gave up....
Co-ownership allows more than one club to have the rights to a single player and has proved to be popular in Italy and also in parts of South America. Co-ownership allows clubs to share a player's economic rights for a short-term period - usually 12 months - after which there is a blind auction to decide which of the parties will buy out their counterparts for the remaining 50 per cent of the player's contract. Club B buys 50% of player's rights from Club A, with player spending a season at agreed club (loan to a third club is also an option)
