I do hope this happens
The fractured relationship between Manchester City and Carlos Tevez has deteriorated further after the club fined the striker £1m for refusing to play against Bayern Munich and the Argentina international threatened to sue the manager, Roberto Mancini, for defamation of character.
City imposed the record four-week fine plus a two-week suspension following the completion of a lengthy disciplinary hearing that found Tevez guilty of misconduct during the 2-0 defeat in the Champions League on 27 September. The 27-year-old's non-appearance at the Allianz Arena came only six days after formally being told he would not receive £6m in loyalty bonuses over the course of his contract. The club are adamant Tevez will not be sold for a cut-price fee in January. Mancini also has the full support of the owner, Sheikh Mansour, and the chairman, Khaldoon al-Mubarak, should he opt not to select the former club captain during the final three years of his £250,000-a-week contract.
A City spokesperson said: "I can confirm that, following a phone call between Roberto and the chairman today, the club's formal position is that no offer for Carlos will be considered unless it reflects true market value."
Theoretically, Tevez could spend the next three years rotting in the reserves at City after being found guilty of five breaches of contract in Germany, unless he finds a club willing to meet his lucrative wage demands and his employer's asking price.
Tevez was informed on the Wednesday before the Bayern game that his two transfer requests, one submitted to the club in December last year and the second issued via the media in the summer, had triggered the loss of future loyalty payments worth £6m and that City's hardline stance is non-negotiable. He was also aware that there would be no negotiations on a new contract at City after the club had met his request to lower their asking price in order for him to rejoin Corinthians and be closer to his family in Argentina, only for the transfer to collapse.
On the Saturday before City faced Bayern, Tevez was an unused substitute in the 2-0 win over Everton as Mancini deployed Edin Dzeko and Sergio Agüero from the start and introduced Mario Balotelli, effectively relegating the Argentinian to fourth-choice striker. Tevez is said to have reacted angrily to the snub and City suspect his actions in Munich, which included not coming out with the team for the pre-match warm-up and then warming up on his own, were premeditated after the developments in the buildup to the game.
Mancini was assured in his phone call with Khaldoon that Sheikh Mansour, the man whose wealth has transformed City into title favourites, feels he and the club have been consistently disrespected by Tevez and that it will be left entirely to the manager's discretion when, or if, to select the striker again. His two-week suspension has already been served, City announced, and so Tevez is eligible for the Carling Cup fourth-round tie against Wolverhampton Wanderers on Wednesday.
The controversy, however, is likely to drag on, with Tevez's representatives considering suing Mancini over his post-match comments at the Allianz Arena. The City manager twice claimed the former Manchester United striker had refused to play against Bayern, to Sky and to the written media, as he struggled to contain his anger, but Tevez's camp claim the charge does not refer to a refusal to play.
In a statement, City listed five breaches of contract by Tevez including: "An obligation to participate in any matches in which the player is selected to play for the club when directed by a club official." They also state that Tevez was found guilty of bringing the game and City into disrepute and of causing "damage to the club". He has received a written warning as to his future conduct and, as the maximum fine allowed is two weeks' wages – the sum Tevez was fined immediately after the incident – City have written to the Professional Footballers' Association for ratification of the additional four-week fine.
The five breaches were not mentioned in a brief letter sent to Tevez by City's chief operating officer, Graham Wallace, according to his representatives. Wallace's letter, received by Tevez around 8pm on Tuesday, explains: "My decision is that, in full view, you refused to carry out an instruction given to you by Roberto Mancini and [the fitness coach] Ivan Carminati, to resume warming up with a view to playing in the match. You are thereby guilty of misconduct." Tevez's camp, therefore, insist the charge presented to the player is at odds with the statement released on City's website. He has 14 days in which to appeal.
