The on-loan striker is angry at being left on the bench for long
periods and claims United boss Sir Alex Ferguson hasn't tried to
sign him permanently.
Tevez's shock bombshell will alert Manchester City, Liverpool,
Arsenal, Chelsea, Everton and Aston Villa - while Iranian
businessman Kia Joorabchian's company, which owns the player, has
also received a £45million offer from a foreign club.
In an exclusive interview, Tevez, 25, declares:
But behind the smiles was anguish. Because joy for a return to
the Champions League final was tempered by a sadness that this was
one of the last moments of real pleasure he would share with his
United brothers.
It had been coming for months. Frustrated and disappointed at
the way he has been treated, Tevez now knows he has to quit. And in
a remarkable Sport of the World interview, the Argentinian pulls no
punches, laying bare the facts about his two-year United tenure.
His revelations will stun Old Trafford on the morning of today's
Manchester derby and with United still chasing an unprecedented
quadruple.
Sir Alex Ferguson last week claimed he thinks of his players as
part of his own family. But Tevez feels like an outsider. Twice
South American Player of the Year, a national hero in Argentina,
reduced to a bit-part, an afterthought.
"Me? I have not been treated as a member of the family," he
said. "I do not feel wanted. I feel bad over my situation, I do,
but it's very, very difficult to stay any longer. I guess what I'm
saying is goodbye.
"I don't think I will be a Manchester United player next season.
I have done everything I possibly can but they have never made me
an offer or given me a contract so I have to leave. I don't think I
deserve to be in this position but you realise if your time is up
you have to go.
Realistically, my time is over and I think I will be at
another club next season. It's very, very difficult to stay any
longer, so I have to finish this season the best I can and move
on.
"I still have the same hunger and I will give my all to win the
last two trophies we are chasing so I can move on knowing I have
done everything for the team. "The fans treat me like family, but
United have not signed me so they do not respect me as a
footballer.
"It makes me feel good when Wayne Rooney and Michael Carrick
talk well about me but they are not the manager. I train very hard,
play well and then I'm dumped. When I play I feel good, then when I
don't I am upset.
"Things have changed dramatically this season. I was dropped -
yet I didn't perform badly. Sir Alex never gave me an explanation
but I never asked him for one because it is not in my
character.
"I accepted it but maybe Sir Alex didn't feel the same way about
me. Maybe he didn't have confidence in me any more." Tevez has
become frustrated this season at his lack of appearances. Despite
being involved in more games than Rooney or Dimitar Berbatov, he
has either started or finished on the bench an astonishing 27
times. He has been an unused substitute on 10 further
occasions.
He has also been substituted 12 times in all competitions and
has played the full 90 minutes in just 20 games, five of them in
the Carling Cup. He added: "I scored four goals against Blackburn
in the Carling Cup but then got dropped for the next game.
"I came on and scored against Porto in the Champions League
quarter-final but was dropped for the away leg. I scored two
against Fulham and was dropped for the next game.
"Whether I come on and play well or whether I come on the pitch
and play just OK, I know I am going to get dropped. It has a
negative impact - your mentality is affected and you get
demoralised."
Ferguson has had to juggle Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo,
Berbatov and Tevez into just three forward places.
Tevez feels he has been the one who has missed out most.
But he refused to be drawn into a slanging match over the
£31.75million summer signing of Bulgarian striker Berbatov from
Spurs. "It's not about Berbatov," he said. "People keep comparing
me to Berbatov but it's not Berbatov's fault. It's just the way
I've been treated I'm upset about.
"I played last season and was the second top scorer. We won the
Champions League and the Premier League. I helped to achieve that
success and then I was dumped for no real reason."
Tevez finished top scorer for his clubs in Argentina and Brazil,
for his country at the Olympics and second for United behind
Ronaldo last season. He has still scored 13 goals this term, but
explained: "I've started every game in the Carling Cup and some in
the FA Cup but only a few in the League.
"I'm disappointed not to get more games but it's been the choice
of the coach. "If I run my a*** off, if I score or don't score, I
know that after 60 minutes I'm going to be taken off. If I don't
start I know I am only going to get 15 or 20 minutes.
"I enjoyed playing with Rooney, Ronaldo and Berbatov. They are
all excellent players. "But this season I can only recall playing
with Rooney up top about five times. It's not been like last year,
when we played that formation a lot."
Tevez has been a fans' favourite since joining United on a
two-year loan deal two years ago. He hoped Ferguson would agree a
deal with Kia Joorabchian to sign him permanently. But discussions
have never taken place.
Tevez insisted: "When I played regularly last season I scored. I
did everything I could but there was never any attempt to sign me
permanently. United did not take up the option at the end of the
first year and up until now I've never had any discussions about my
contract.
"If ever there was a time to sign me it was at the end of last
year but there was no effort to sign me. "The major concentration
was to sign other players and by January there was still nothing.
They signed other players but still there was no bid for
me.
"United have never offered me any contract. So I guess I have to
finish the season the best I can and move on. The fans have been
great with me, I love them. And every time I put the shirt on I
fight for the club. I have done everything I possibly can at United
but circumstances are forcing me to leave.
"I also want to make it very clear that it's not about money. I
have read stories claiming I've asked for £6m, £9m and £12m. But I
have never asked Sir Alex or David Gill for money.
"When I sign for another club if anyone says 'It was impossible
for Carlos to sign for Man United because he was asking for £8m' it
is not true."
Tevez also set the record straight about his family. He said:
"It's not true my family are unhappy in England. It's not true I
want to leave England for Spain. My four-year-old daughter
Florencia is learning English and my wife is very happy living in
England.
"We want to stay. I want to play in England because it is the
best League in the world and it suits my style. "Any club I join,
whether it be Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City, Liverpool or
Everton, will be a rival of Manchester United. I would like to
thank the United fans for their support. They will always have a
special place in my heart.
"If I was a United fan I wouldn't want to see their player in
any other shirt but I think they will accept I've done everything I
can."
Tevez's economic rights are owned by a group of investors headed
by Joorabchian, who said: "There are a lot of Premier League clubs
interested in Carlos but it would be unprofessional to start
talking to them before the season has ended.
"There are also foreign clubs interested in him but since
Carlos' preference is to stay here then that is the first place we
have to look. "We received a formal offer in January from a foreign
club for a figure in excess of £40m, although out of respect for
United we have not spoken to them yet.
"Carlos' final destination will be made solely on what's best
for Carlos and his family." For Tevez, the realisation that he has
to walk out on United is painful. He concluded sadly: "I've given
everything for United. I can leave with my head held high."
