The future of Argentine striker, Carlos Tevez, has been settled once and for all after Manchester United announced the player would not be staying at Old Trafford. Tevez had been thought to want to stay at the club and after a £25.5 million offer was made to make his loan deal in Manchester permanent, the player decided to turn any deal down and move on.

It will come as a bitter blow to many United fans that supported Tevez through the last few months of his United career. He was often in and out of the side and frequently voiced his frustration at the manager not allowing him an extended run. He was also said to be increasingly upset by the lack of urgency from United in getting his contract sorted out at an earlier date.

Had the club done this then Tevez may have been willing to stay on. However, he feels that the move to sign him up has only come as a result of losing Cristiano Ronaldo and the fact that United had so much free cash to spend. Otherwise it is unlikely that they would have bothered arm wrestling over terms for the Argentine and this is why he feels it is better to move on.






A United statement read: “Disappointingly, his advisors informed the club that he does not wish to continue playing for Manchester United. The club thanks Carlos for his services over the last two seasons and wishes him good luck for the future.”

There will now be a few teams sniffing around Tevez like hungry sharks. Manchester City are said to be happy to pay the fee and double the player’s wages in order to get him into their side, but there is also strong interest from Liverpool and Real Madrid. United would probably prefer him to go to the latter and they will be hoping that the Spanish club can whip up some cash from out of nowhere and steal him away from beneath the nose of any other English club who want him.

The impact of Tevez’s departure on the United side remains to be seen but they will have a difficult job trying to find a replacement that demonstrates a similar work ethic and energy that Tevez displayed in every single game he played. He was not the most high quality player in the game at United but he worked tirelessly and would sweat blood for his side. These are virtues that will stand him in good stead and whomever he goes to will have a terrific little player on their books.

We will have to wait for a little while this summer to find out his next destination because the player is representing his country in some South American World Cup qualifiers. The fact that Tevez can have a dodgy end of season spell at United and still walk into an Argentina World Cup squad tells you everything that you need to know about this little mean. United now need to start working on finding an attacking player that can replace two immense ones that they have just let walk out of the club, easier said than done.

The trading between English and Spanish clubs continues, as it has emerged that the agent of Liverpool’s Javier Mascherano has been in negotiations with Spanish giants, Barcelona. The Argentine defensive midfield player is on the verge of completing a move to the Spanish champions as Rafa Benitez looks to make squad space to improve his playing side.

Barca are ready to pay Liverpool £20 million for his services and this would be a good figure for the Merseyside club as they have cover in Mascherano’s position via Xabi Alonso. It could also mean an end to the speculation that Alonso will go to Real Madrid and the funds could help form a bid for Valencia striker David Villa.

However, as is so often the case with many transfer stories and rumours it is unknown whether the talks between the Argentine’s agent and Barca were official or whether it was just an initial meeting to declare interest. If you ask the player himself he would probably be flattered and interested by the link and will want a new challenge.

He arrived into the English game in a controversial move that saw him and Carlos Tevez playing at West Ham United under suspect circumstances. He may want to leave all of that negative history behind him but he seems to be an important and well liked player at Liverpool, which would make any move away from the club more difficult.

He has tasted limited success at Liverpool and nobody would blame him if he chose to up sticks and leave the club for a new adventure. He would also probably find it a little easier to slip into the Spanish way of life after difficulties of his speaking English at Liverpool have always been well documented.





Mascherano is one of the most under rated players in the Premier League. His aggression and work ethic are second to none and he allows Liverpool to attack so rampantly, safe in the knowledge that someone is sitting back and ready to fill in for any player that is caught badly out of position. This is surely one of the main reasons why Barca are so interested in signing him and one of the main reasons that Liverpool should probably try and keep him as best they can.

Liverpool would have a very difficult time in replacing him, which makes his value all the more important. The manager needs to way up how important he is to the side and how they can cope with his loss. A lucrative bid from the Spanish champions would be hard to turn down and if the player wants the move then it would be difficult for Benitez to block any action. If he did then it would be senseless and Liverpool would be better served by trying to buy a replacement or improve another area of the playing squad.

An official approach or bid should be made in the next few days and if it does materialise then it seems like a good deal for all parties concerned.

The future of Manchester United forward, Carlos Tevez, has become even more unclear after a number of reports appeared this morning with the Argentine forward saying he is almost certain he will leave at the end of the year.

Tevez’s future has been debated for months as manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, has struggled to fit him into a side successfully with Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo and Dimitar Berbatov.

A number of clubs are said to be sniffing around the edges waiting for Tevez to throw in the towel with Real Madrid the front-runners to snap up his services. United would do well to offer Tevez a new contract before the end of the season but his departure from Old Trafford now looks almost a certainty.

He said to the Spanish media: “Yes, it’s like that, it’s true I see myself more leaving United than staying here. I don’t see why I should lie to people or anything because the fans support me a lot as you can see. So I don’t have any reason to lie to them.”

“While I wear the United shirt I will leave my life on the pitch. You can see that in every game I play. I respect people a lot and I’m grateful to them. My future? I don’t know what will happen for my future. I would like to go to Spain, yes, but I don’t know yet.”

There are many reasons why his departure from Manchester United would be a bad move for the current European champions. Firstly, his work ethic is as good, if not, better than anyone else in the current side. Even if he is not playing well he will work his socks off in whichever role he is asked to do by the manager.

Secondly, he is one of the most gifted goal scorers in the Premier League. Regardless of the fact he has only scored three times in 25 Premier League appearances this season, Tevez has the ability to create space and magic out of nothing. These virtues will be seen in the Premier League run but United will struggle to replace these qualities if they let him leave.

He also appears to be more consistent than the lethargic Berbatov. You know exactly what you are going to get every time you put Carlos Tevez on a pitch. With Berbatov you don’t know if he is going to be up for it and play out of his skin or whether his attitude will reflect the penalty he took against Everton in the recent FA Cup semi-final.

No one can really argue with Sir Alex, he generally knows what he’s doing. Stam, Keane, Beckham and Van Nistelrooy all left Old Trafford and attracted him scrutiny but they all turned out to be the right decision and this could well end up the same.

If he leaves then Tevez will be badly missed in the Premier League. He was loved during his time at West Ham and his move to Manchester complimented his ability. Where ever he starts next season will be a privileged club.