Outcast may yet haunt City

CARLOS TEVEZ may feel he doesn’t have many friends at the moment. It’s quite a remarkable achievement too, considering the man has managed to alienate both the red and blue halves of Manchester despite playing a significant part in United and City’s recent successes.

But the striker need not fear, for Carlos has a friend. In his ghastly tête-à-tête with Manchester City, Tevez is ready to sue Roberto Mancini for defamation of character after he was alleged to have refused to play for the club he extracts a €290,000-a-week wage from. Whether you believe Tevez has a character worth defaming is a moot point at this stage.

His friend? None other than a Scottish journeyman by the name of Andy Webster, the Hearts defender who has caused a courtroom stir, not quite on a par with Jean-Marc Bosman, but his actions in 2006 will undoubtedly cause a ripple of concern among those at City.

Webster made transfer history five years ago when he unilaterally broke his contract with Hearts to move to Wigan. By invoking a loophole in Article 17 of the new Fifa laws on transfers, Webster effectively bought his contract with the Scottish side to move to Wigan, creating a legal precedent for international football transfers in the process.

Potentially, when the time is right, Tevez will be able to throw money at his problem and flee the club he seems so unhappy to be at.

In theory, Tevez would be required to pay compensation based on wages and his original transfer cost but since a potential new club would sign him for no official fee, he would not be short when it came to paying his captors to release him.

In practice, the situation remains cloudy but Webster’s case will have been noted by City’s suits.

Mancini insists Tevez will not play for City as long as he is manager and the club’s kingmaker, Sheikh Mansour, is prepared to stand by the man charged with turning the club into Premier League champions.

This means Tevez has now been cast in the role of pariah and this is a shame for football fans across the world.

He is now a decrepit puppet, dancing on broken strings operated by his master-cum-agent Kia Joorabchian, and it is disheartening to see such a talented player rot away from the limelight that gave him the opportunity to earn as much as he does.

City’s firm stance in this civil war — the club insist Tevez won’t be sold for a knockdown fee in January despite Joorabchian working overtime on finding his client a new club — indicates they hold the power.

A supremely gifted player desperate to leave to be nearer his family is being met with ‘no exit’ signs. But lest City forget, Carlos has a friend in Webster. He has power.

Webster’s Rule states Tevez will be able to buy out the remaining two years of his contract in June 2012 because he was younger than 28 when he penned his City deal and the protected period of his five-year agreement will have been served.

If he wants to, which he surely will if it gets that far, Tevez must give notice he plans to use Article 17 within 15 days of the final league game of City’s season.

So if they continue to try and wield their power by letting him rot and rebuffing any transfer bids, Tevez could respond by rocking the club amid their expected title chasing run-in by leaving through the back door on the cheap, backed up by cast-iron legal precedent.

How’s that for a spanner in the works?

City may be rich, but money is still an object to them. Their insistence to shun a cut-price deal and get their money’s worth proves this.

Tevez insists he feels hurt by allegations he decided not to turn up for work in the Champions League and Mancini may have a case to answer for defamation if his employee can prove this.

After all, having learned of his alleged refusal to do his job despite wearing ludicrously expensive golden handcuffs, what must other clubs think?

Would you want Tevez at your club following these allegations? He doesn’t have baggage, he harbours an entire departure lounge.

Mancini has coped admirably with a whole host of distractions to lift his side to the top of the Premier League. But while the beauty and grace of his team sans Tevez is a source for supreme satisfaction on the pitch, Mancini will be keenly aware the ugly situation he is presented with away from the action represents one of his toughest tasks to negotiate as manager.

The fireworks away from the field have already been let off courtesy of Mario Balotelli but Mancini is bracing himself for a similarly explosive period in the next stage of his fight with Tevez.

Watch the sparks fly.