Carlos Tevez, the enfant terrible of Manchester City, has reportedly agreed terms with AC Milan. It is now up to the Italian club to convince City that the deal they offer is a good one, in a way the blue half of Manchester feel they are getting a fair deal.
The move has been brewing for months, especially after Tevez’s reported unprofessional decision to refuse to warm up during City’s Uefa Champions League tie against Bayern Munich in Germany.
City were losing when manager Roberto Mancini asked Tevez to warm up. Depending on whose side of the story you believe, either Tevez suffered from a case of broken telephone or, as Mancini says, he refused to play. For a man that gets paid £250 000 a week, to suggest that there was confusion on the bench appears little more than an excuse for his inexcusable actions. After the match, Mancini said Tevez would never play under him again, nor why should he? Tevez was suspended for four weeks
The situation escalated further when Tevez went AWOL to Argentina without permission, failing to report to training when expected on November 8. Having only made five appearances for City in all competitions this season, the Argentine is doing everything within his power to ensure that he leaves Manchester City, claiming homesickness and missing his daughters in Argentina.
Having requested a transfer towards the back end of 2010, and seen a proposed move to South America fall through, Italy has come calling with AC Milan having agreed personal terms with Tevez to go on loan for the rest of the season, with hopes to make the move permanent at the end of the season.
Manchester City aren’t the first club Tevez has graced with what appears to be a strong-headed personality. He arrived in England at West Ham via the dealings of his friend and agent Kia Joorabchian, moved onto Manchester United and after being offered an allegedly fruitful contract, decided to go to cash-bathing Manchester City in a rare cross-Manchester switch.
Tevez is a fine player with one of the highest work rates in Europe. When on song, he is involved in most of the good work taking place at the opposition’s goal. For a player of this quality to act in an undistinguished manner, while paid a wage some could say is ludicrous considering the financial woes suffered by football’s global fan base during the poorly titled “Great Recession”, speaks of a man who is willing to put his team first so long as it matches his own interests.
AC Milan are a big club, and owned by former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, a man who does not lack ego. If Tevez does move to Milan, he better realise that the same behaviour in Italy won’t be tolerated nearly as much as it is in England, with City’s money able to wait Tevez’s antics out. They do however want to make sure they get adequate compensation for Tevez’s services. It remains to be seen whether City are ready to let Tevez have his way one final time.
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