Manchester City striker Carlos Tevez has revealed that the club’s multi-billionaire owner Sheikh Mansour has told him he can leave the club if that is to make him happy.
The Argentine international has been very unsteady throughout the season and now well into the transfer period, and with Barcelona, Real Madrid, Inter Milan, and AC Milan reportedly sighting the 27-year-old, Tevez has long been interested in a move away from Eastlands.
It is also understood that Tevez might be making his way back to Argentina, to Boca Juniors in particular, knowing that El Apache misses life back home with thousands of miles cutting him apart of his family.
Tevez has insisted that he is currently in talks with the club owners only, dismissing links with either the manager or particularly the chief executive, Gary Cook, someone he publicly dislikes.
Speaking to The News Of The World, Tevez made it clear that the owners have given him complete freedom to leave the club if that is to be the case, revealing that his future in the City of Manchester Stadium lies only in his hands.
“He [Mansour] signed me, he wants to keep me but, at the same time, he has told me to do whatever I need to do to be happy.
“He has told me, ‘If you want to leave, then you can go’. There is no deadline – it’s down to me.
“They offered me a new contract in December but I didn’t want to extend it.
“At the end of the season they offered me another new deal but at the moment I don’t know whether I will accept it.
“There are options but if I don’t play for Real Madrid, Barcelona, Inter or Milan it won’t be a massive void in my life.
“There are no other issues – Manchester is my second home.”
About 6 months ago, the 27-year-old handed in a transfer request out of blue, and Tevez has linked it directly to unfulfilled promises by the CEO of the club, and insisted that he does not regret his decision.
“I have no regrets whatsoever about my transfer request”he explained. “It was a situation that some people [Cook] on the board created. They promised something for six months and didn’t deliver.
“So, after six months of promises, they don’t do something – why should I believe them now? I don’t. I will never speak to these people [Cook] again. I still feel the same way.
“I have principles and I will never speak with them – never. They have tried to speak with me but I will never talk with them. There is no way, it is not possible.
“I deal direct with Sheikh Mansour, no one else. It makes no difference to my future, as they [Cook] don’t mean anything to me. I won’t have a relationship with them. They live in a different world.
“I stayed in December because of my relationship with the supporters. They respect me. The fans always tell me to stay. I have no problem with them – they are always very respectful.”
Another reason behind the saga linking Tevez with a move outside Manchester is of course his family, his two daughters and wife, stretching across the Atlantic back home in Argentina, as well as finding it tough settling in England.
“Last December, I really thought about quitting football – I was serious. “Unless you have children you will never understand what it’s like to be away from them.
“They are growing up so fast, thousands of miles away, and I’m not there to see it.
“It’s hard to come home after a game to an empty house, when I’m upset or nervous, to be without them.
“When Katia injured her hand in February, I wasn’t around to protect them. Those are the moments when I realise how much my family means to me.
“That’s why I will be done with Europe in three years. It’s a huge effort mentally to do it but, at 31, I will be finished in Europe.
“The pressure isn’t the issue but I miss my family and my home life in Argentina too much to be away from them.”
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