Carlos Tevez’s time in England appears to be done.
The Manchester City striker is on the brink of a move to Italian club Juventus for an initial £8m but with add-ons and all that those intricaicies of a football player’s contract could rise to £17m.
Ever since he first arrived in England, joining West Ham in 2007 much to everyone’s surprise, Tevez has courted much controversy and it now seems that City have had enough and are willing to cut their ties with the Argentine.
Some have said this transfer has come about because Tevez has reached the age of 29 and, obviously, is not getting any younger. It is certainly a factor but there is still a very strong argument that when Tevez is 100% healthy he is City’s most effective striker.
No, this transfer is a result of a combination of factors, namely Tevez’s truly spectacular ego. Twice the striker handed in transfer requests to Man City on top of a very public falling out, and subsequent self imposed exile, with the now departed Roberto Mancini following his refusal to come off the bench during a Champions League match against Bayern Munich in 2011.
And there’s also the small matter of his embarrassing driving ban which provided both player and club with unwanted bad press.
But what would you expect from the man who jumped from the red part of Manchester to the blue? Controversy may as well be Tevez’s middle name.
Juventus aren’t silly, though, and they must know what they are getting themselves involved in by acquiring Tevez’s services.
If they are able to keep Tevez’s notorious ego under wraps, however, than they are adding a very dangerous weapon on their hands as they look to make it three Serie A titles on the bounce as well as attempting to go further in the Champions League.