Carlos Tevez made his intentions clear this past week by formally announcing his intention to leave Manchester City after months of speculation regarding the Argentine’s future.
Tevez has made no secret of his discontent in Manchester having already suggested in January that he may leave the club in the not too distant future. Having spent time in both the Blue and Red parts of Manchester the striker has now decided that the time has come to end his career in the North West.
He’s enjoyed great success during his time in England, winning six major trophies including the Premier League and European Cup with Manchester United and the FA Cup with City. In the 2010/11 league campaign he ended joint topscorer alongside former teammate Dimitar Berbatov and in total has scored an impressive 43 times in 65 appearances for City.
Since leaving Old Trafford under somewhat controversial circumstances for arch rivals Manchester City he had become something of an icon for Blues fans acting as the teams Captain and talisman and an integral part of how they play.
Tevez, who is currently away on international duty with Argentina in the Copa America, blames family reasons for his desire to leave England. His wish is to be closer to his two daughters, who along with their mother moved back to Argentina after failing to settle in Manchester.
So what next for the disgruntled striker? Ever since he arrived on these shores he has spoken of returning to his beloved Boca Juniors but City’s asking price of £50m and his apparent £200,000 per week in wages may prevent any such deal happening.
It will surely be down to Europe’s elite to fight it out for his services though Barcelona seem to be focusing most their efforts on Alexis Sanchez and Cesc Fabregas the two most heavily linked are Real Madrid and Inter Milan. Inter President Massimo Moratti has already been quoted as saying Tevez’s wage demands would be an issue and new manager Gian Piero Gaspeini said recently that he will have to sell before he can buy.
It’s no wonder that Madrid are favourites for his signature and it’s a move that the player and his family would more than favour due to the similarities in culture and language. Reports in the media have suggested a cash plus player deal will be used to acquire his services with Gonzalo Higuain moving to Manchester.
If Tevez was to leave who would manager Roberto Mancini look to bring in to replace him? This could be one of many names that have already been linked to the club, they recently failed in an attempt to lure Barca target Sanchez to Eastlands and Inter are apparently not prepared to discuss a swap deal involving Samuel Eto’o.
More interesting names being suggested are Napoli pair Ezequiel Lavezzi and Edinson Cavani, both of whom have caught the eye after an impressive season in Italy’s Serie A, helping guide Napoli to a Champions League spot.
Uruguayan Cavani socred 26 goals in 35 appearances in what was his first season with the Naples club. Argentine teammate Lavezzi was not as prolific but is a vital part of how the team play and is certainly more in the mould of Tevez in his stocky build and bullish style of play.
Both have represented their country on a number of occasions and have experience of European football in the form of last season’s Europa League as well as looking like perfect candidates to play in the English Premier league.
For now though Tevez will be at the mercy of his club as they are not desperate to sell and the striker still has 3 years remaining on his current contract but if one of Europe’s elite does meet City’s valuation it will certainly be interesting to see just who is selected to replace him.
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