Friday, July 17, 2009

Manchester City announce that Tevez will sign

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Carlos Tevez is set to wear the blue of Manchester City after the club announced they have reached an agreement over a proposed move to the City of Manchester Stadium.

Tevez has agreed personal terms and is expected to pen a five-year deal at Eastlands. City have confirmed the deal has been ratified by the Premier League and the Football Association, and Tevez is expected to have a medical shortly before meeting up with his new team-mates on their pre-season tour to South Africa.

Manager Mark Hughes said "It is terrific news. Carlos is an international player of the highest class who possesses all the attributes that will help drive this club forward."

Tevez caught an overnight flight from South America on Monday to Manchester to put an end to a lengthy pursuit of a player who ended his association with Manchester United after finishing a two-year loan at Old Trafford amid much acrimony at the end of June.

City have previously been reluctant to express too much confidence about the chances of Tevez joining them, knowing the complexities of the deal could scupper it at any time. Tevez's "economic rights" are owned by third-party group MSI, fronted by businessman Kia Joorabchian.

Despite something of a rapport with fans at Old Trafford, and a United offer that met MSI's requirements in terms of wages and a fee for the player, Red Devils' boss Sir Alex Ferguson said on Monday that he felt the Argentine striker had decided to bail out long before the eventual decision was taken.

"I half expected Carlos Tevez would be going a long time back," said the United boss. "I think he maybe did a deal around January because I spoke to him and gave him an offer on the night we played Inter Milan (in March) and he never came back to me.

"I phoned him on holiday and he never got back to me and I texted him twice and he never got back to me then either, so obviously he had made his mind up a long time ago.

"He was a good player and did well for us. But he obviously assessed the situation and wanted to go somewhere else."

Arsenal's Emmanuel Adebayor has also emerged as the latest big name to catch City's eye while they also wait to see what the result of conversations between John Terry and Chelsea will be.

Blues chairman Khaldoon al-Mubarak is willing to make Terry the highest-paid player in England in order to lure him north.


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