Tevez wants to leave... again.

Carlos Tevez has stated once again that he wants to leave Manchester City. Sportsmail initially broke the story with a statement they claim to be directly from the Argentinean hit man stating that for the good of his family he must leave Manchester City this summer.

'It is with great regret that I have to inform Manchester City of my wish to leave the club. I would like to state that I have great respect for the club, its supporters and the owner, Sheik Mansoor, who has been nothing other than respectful to me.




Tevez has tested the patience of the City faithful to the limit in recent months with the ‘will he wont he’ saga that has rumbled in since he first handed in a transfer request in December of 2010. He continues:


'I hope that the people understand the difficult circumstances I have been living under the past 12 months, in regards to my family.

'Living without my children in Manchester has been incredibly challenging for me. Everything I do, I do for my daughters, Katie and Florencia. I need to be closer to them and to spend more time with them.

'I need them to be happy because my life is about them now. I need to be in a place where they can adapt.

'Being captain of Manchester City, qualifying for the Champions League, winning the FA Cup and finishing as top-scorer last season has made me very proud.

'I hope that most of the City fans will understand that I have given them my all on the pitch and that my dedication to the city cause has been 100 per cent on the pitch.

'I hope I have done my bit to help City continue their progress towards their ambition to be champions of England and to advance in the Champions League. I have no doubt that the players and management of City will achieve great success in the future.'

Of course no one could complain about his contribution to the team on the pitch, scoring over 50 goals in the two seasons he’s been at Eastlands. It is his attitude off the pitch which has annoyed and indeed angered many of the fans.

Indeed people can empathise with his personal life as no one would want to live half the world away from their children. But this new twist in the ongoing saga is just another public bashing of the club and the fans that have given him the all they possibly could to make him happy.

The timing of this statement is also very suspect. It’s almost as though Carlos has felt he was not the centre of attention now the signing of Gael Clichy from Arsenal had taken the headlines. It is however, more likely that the timing (the day the players return to pre-season training) was intended to put the City hierarchy into overdrive to try and find possible suitors for the want away striker.

There are a few problems with this though. After asking for so much money and performing so well coupled with his reputation for moving on every 2-3 years he has effectively priced himself out of a move away from City.

Most clubs would balk at his ridiculously high wage demands, thought to be in the region of £250k a week at City, especially if they will have to fork out the £50m transfer fee that the club are reported to be asking for.

Which chairman at any club in the world would want to pay that kind of money for someone who may not be there in 3 years time? Carlos, at 27, is at the peak of his career and his value is mirrored by that fact. So in 2-3 years time it is not unreasonable to think that whoever bought him wouldn’t get anywhere near the return if he was to ask to leave their club.

This new statement could be a ploy to get City to sell him on the cheap, which is something they have categorically stated they will not be doing for any player leaving the club. And with another 3 years left on his contract City are well and truly in the driving seat.

If he really is that desperate to leave Manchester then there may be the option for him to buy out the remainder of his contract, although the value of this is likely to be around £40m. Not exactly small change, even for someone on his salary.