Carlos Tevez was an icon at Manchester City during the four years he spent at the club.
The Argentina star’s move to the Etihad Stadium was one of the most controversial transfers in the history of the Premier League, as despite being a West Ham player, the striker played for Manchester United on loan during the two seasons before his switch to City.
United had hoped to keep him at Old Trafford as Tevez played a big role in the success of Sir Alex Ferguson’s team during those two years, as the Red Devils won two Premier League titles, the Champions League and the League Cup.
The Argentine would, however, decide to move to Man City, and this had Man United players talking about the 41-year-old years after his switch to their Manchester rivals was completed.
Carlos Tevez playing for Man City against Newcastle.
Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images
Man United players were shocked by Carlos Tevez’s salary at Man City
During the summer of 2009, Tevez would complete his move from West Ham to Man City as part of a £25m deal.
The striker signed a five-year contract with the Manchester club, where he reportedly earned £150,000 per week.
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Former Man United CEO David Gil previously stated that Tevez joined Man City over the Red Devils for the money, and according to Andy Mitten, the dressing room at Old Trafford was talking about the Argentine for years after his £25m move, as they were stunned by how much he was earning at the time.
“Yeah, it was about money. I remember in 2018, and United players were still talking about how much Carlos Tevez went for. These were like first team players were like, this is how much he was earning,” Mitten said on The Athletic FC Podcast.
“I remember, and this is a crazy story, interviewing a lad called Lionel Messi. I’ll be honest, right? It was hard work, okay?
“The tape recorder went off, and he knew which city I came from, and he started asking me about Carlos Tevez and how much money Manchester City were paying. I’m like, why are you asking me? You don’t really know me. So the waves of that transfer in terms of what he was paid, were huge.”
£150,000-a-week seems small today, but that was a large sum of money to be paying a single star at the time.
Tevez would have a few disagreements with Roberto Mancini in the years after, but his arrival would be worth it, as the striker played a big role in Man City winning their first Premier League title.
Carlos Tevez celebrates a goal in Norwich City v Manchester City.
Photo by Matthew Lewis/Getty Images
Carlos Tevez never felt loved by Sir Alex Ferguson
Man City fans love Tevez to this day after his four-year spell at the Etihad Stadium, but the Argentine never felt the same affection from his former Man United boss, Sir Alex Ferguson, which may have played a big role in why he opted to move to Man City.
“I don’t think he ever felt truly loved by Ferguson,” Mitten said on The Athletic FC podcast when talking about Tevez and United.
“It was put to me at one point by an extremely reliable source that he felt that because he was Argentinian, because of the Falklands war. And I’m like, this just isn’t true as well, that Ferguson had something against him. But I don’t believe that at all.
“But if you’re Argentinian, there’s always that little edge between Brits because of what happened in the Falklands. So there are all sorts of geopolitical reasons, financial reasons. It’s just this mixture.”