City reject £40m Tevez bid

MANCHESTER CITY last night rejected Corinthians’ £40million (€45m) bid for Carlos Tevez.

It maintains the level of uncertainty surrounding Tevez’s future, with the player desperate to leave for family reasons and City refusing to sanction the departure of their skipper without adequate compensation.

No reason has been given by City for their stance, which will not go down well with Tevez, currently at the Copa America in Argentina.

However, when the 27-year-old publicly expressed a desire to move away from the club last week, City officials immediately stressed that with three years left on the striker’s contract, they were in the strongest bargaining position.

Using the £50m Chelsea paid Liverpool for Fernando Torres as a guide, City pointed out that as they regarded Tevez as one of the world’s best forwards, they saw no reason why he should be allowed to leave on the cheap.

And, having discovered it could cost around £45m to get Atletico Madrid’s Sergio Aguero as a replacement, it appears City’s stance remains the same.

Tevez’s trusted advisor Kia Joorabchian is no longer on speaking terms with City chief executive Garry Cook and the belief at the newly-named Etihad Stadium is this lies at the root of the problems. Earlier Joorabchian admitted forcing through a deal to join Brazilian outfit Corinthians “will not be simple”.

“It is a big deal and a tough deal, because it is one of a very big nature and it might not be simple,” Joorabchian said.

Joorabchian also played down cryptic comments from Jose Mourinho that hinted Real Madrid may make a move saying he “will take very step as it comes”.

Meanwhile, Tevez’s strike partner Emmanuel Adebayor looks certain to be fined after failing to report for training.

Adebayor appears to have no future at City and is holding out for his own Madrid move after spending the second half of last season at Real.