Tevez: I want to help Mario

Carlos Tevez has told Manchester City team-mate Mario Balotelli not to make the same mistakes he did.

Balotelli, 22, was pictured last week in an apparent physical confrontation with manager Roberto Mancini in what was the latest chapter of a controversial and incident-packed spell at Eastlands.

Tevez is no stranger to controversy himself, having been out of the City side for a long spell last season after refusing to warm up during a Champions League match against Bayern Munich.

The 28-year-old Argentina striker, who eventually returned to the City side to win a Premier League winner’s medal last term, said: “I try to help Mario. I talk to him personally, on and off the pitch.

“I’ve been in that moment like him.

“I’m always keen to help him and keep him going through these kind of moments, so he doesn’t make the same mistakes that I did in the past.”

Tevez did not feel the training-ground incident with Mancini, which was sparked by a tackle from Balotelli on Scott Sinclair, was a big deal.

“There are these kind of things that have happened at all the clubs I’ve been, but here at City the spotlight is always on us, as it is always on Roberto and Mario,” he said.

“So here it always comes out – but this kind of thing happens everywhere.”