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After Manchester City beat Stoke at Wembley to lift the FA Cup, just days after sealing their place in next season's Champions League, Carlos Tevez spoke to Sportsmail's Ian Ladyman.

So what a week, Carlos. How does that feel?

It’s a great achievement to get into the Champions League as we worked very hard for it. Now, to win the FA Cup, it’s a big achievement.

Does it make you as happy as other achievements in your career?

It’s great. There was a huge desire for it and we deserved it. We’ve got a great group, we’ve worked hard and we’ve reached our targets.

Does this silence the critics and make people realise City are going to be a force to be reckoned with?

We are becoming a big team and it’s normal that when you don’t play well people will criticise you. We knew not everyone would accept us, but we’re not playing to shut people up, we’re playing to hit our objectives.

Will you be staying?

It’s a decision that I have to make with my family, who are the priority. I don’t have problems with anyone at the club, things are fine with [Roberto] Mancini, but it’s a decision I need to discuss with my family.

Why are there doubts about your future when City are finally on the brink of something big?

There aren’t. The only reason is that my family, my kids, are a long way from Manchester.

Mancini said last week you told them in December you wanted to go to Italy but he hoped you’d change your mind. Will you?

Everyone knows that in December we had problems with the directors. We discussed various things and it’s a thing I need to discuss with my family.

What will the club have to say to keep you?

It’s normal. I’m at the club, the club wants me to stay, but I have to make sure everything is OK for my family. I’ll have to speak to them about that.

Unless you move back to Argentina, though, family will always be a long distance away. What’s the difference, being in England, Italy or Spain?

You are already talking as if I have left the club. I don’t know if I am going to leave or not, if I’m going to Spain or Italy or somewhere else.

Some people say it’s down to money, that if City offered you a new contract you’d stay...

No, no.

Doesn’t the idea of being the captain who helped overhaul United and won the league appeal to you?

Yes, that is a great motivation to stay. It would make me very happy to win the title here. It is what we all want and need.

How’s your relationship with Mancini?

We have a great relationship. We are both winners and want to achieve more things. We have a good relationship off the pitch and in the professional sense. Sometimes there were problems between us but I think that happens everywhere.

Great read! Thank you:-) never thought tevez getting a divorce would end up causing this much trouble!:-)

I think that if this is all that stands between him staying or going the cookmeister will cook (pun intended) something up to get his ex to move here with the kids. Give her a job/salary or something!

Not buying this family stuff as enough of a reason on its own for him to leave but not buying the idea he's keen to go either. Kia must be heavily involved in this. Whether Tevez feels he owes him because he got him out of the ghetto or whether he's helped Tevez' family in Argentina, or is some kind of Don Corleone over there; somehow he's got influence over Tevez & I recon we either buy him off or Tevez goes.

I've always felt that Tevez ain't the brightest of players and tha Kia Kootsitface is the reason he moves every 2 years ...

But surely a signon fee is worth less than 10% of whatever salary we pay him now? After all I don't think he'll earn as much anywhere else?

Ted Hughes wrote:Not buying this family stuff as enough of a reason on its own for him to leave but not buying the idea he's keen to go either. Kia must be heavily involved in this. Whether Tevez feels he owes him because he got him out of the ghetto or whether he's helped Tevez' family in Argentina, or is some kind of Don Corleone over there; somehow he's got influence over Tevez & I recon we either buy him off or Tevez goes.

Agreed. The family issue is partly genuine but mostly a smokescreen for the real reasons driving all of this and for the real reasons you don't have to look much beyond Kia whatsisname.

I've had Tevez down as 100% gone in the summer but this interview has given me pause for thought. I want Tevez to stay - hell its a no brainer - but only a committed Tevez. I don't want him mooning round the place like a love sick teenager ala Torres at Liverpool. My money is still on him going but am starting to wonder if it is as cut and dried as I supposed.

BobKowalski wrote:

Ted Hughes wrote:Not buying this family stuff as enough of a reason on its own for him to leave but not buying the idea he's keen to go either. Kia must be heavily involved in this. Whether Tevez feels he owes him because he got him out of the ghetto or whether he's helped Tevez' family in Argentina, or is some kind of Don Corleone over there; somehow he's got influence over Tevez & I recon we either buy him off or Tevez goes.

Agreed. The family issue is partly genuine but mostly a smokescreen for the real reasons driving all of this and for the real reasons you don't have to look much beyond Kia whatsisname.

I've had Tevez down as 100% gone in the summer but this interview has given me pause for thought. I want Tevez to stay - hell its a no brainer - but only a committed Tevez. I don't want him mooning round the place like a love sick teenager ala Torres at Liverpool. My money is still on him going but am starting to wonder if it is as cut and dried as I supposed.

Well Bob has said he's staying, so it can't be cut & dried or he would have just carried on playing a straight bat to the question; Tevez must have given Bob reason to think he'll stay. One newspaper actually turned the whole thing on its head & said City had told Tevez he has to be totally committed to the club if he's going to stay. All very strange.

He looked happier than I've ever seen him when he lifted that trophy & more intense & nervous than ever in the run up to the game.

Don't cheat on your wife and family problem solved

Ted Hughes wrote:Not buying this family stuff as enough of a reason on its own for him to leave but not buying the idea he's keen to go either. Kia must be heavily involved in this. Whether Tevez feels he owes him because he got him out of the ghetto or whether he's helped Tevez' family in Argentina, or is some kind of Don Corleone over there; somehow he's got influence over Tevez & I recon we either buy him off or Tevez goes.

We can't buy Kia off of anything. He is Tevez's agent there's not a chance he'd leave his favourite "friend".

Personally I'm still convinced he is off. Obviously saying all this crap because there are still couple of games where he'll play. I think he is going to Italy. Careerwise as stupid move as he can make at this stage but he is banging that fine Italian model ass.

Niall Quinns Discopants wrote:
We can't buy Kia off of anything. He is Tevez's agent there's not a chance he'd leave his favourite "friend".

Personally I'm still convinced he is off. Obviously saying all this crap because there are still couple of games where he'll play. I think he is going to Italy. Careerwise as stupid move as he can make at this stage but he is banging that fine Italian model ass.

Agree that there is no chance we could pay off Kia to sever links/stop acting for Carlos.

What we could do though is pay him off in the form of some kind of re-signing/loyalty type bonus to essentially compensate him for the fee he "forsakes" by not moving Carlos on.

Clearly we also have to do something to accomodate Tevez's family/model banging conundrum.

It's a big pain in the arse to have to handle for the club and a lot of moving parts BUT Tevez would be extraordinarily difficult to replace. I'm convinced that Dzeko and Mario will be much improved next season but are they sure to be able to step up and plug a 20+ goal gap that Carlos would leave....well, I'd not be wanting to take that risk.

If we bring back Adebayor and sign Drogba then I'd be tempted to just sell Carlos but handling Mario/Ade/Drog in the dressing room/on the bench is probably as big of an arseache as dealing with this Tevez fix.

Tough call but there are not many strikers even potentially out there (never mind actually available!) who could fill the void he would leave

Wish he would be more honest about his reasons though and stop using his daughters as an excuse. Samuel said what we're all thinking - you won't be any closer to Argentina in Spain or Italy

Wooders wrote:Wish he would be more honest about his reasons though and stop using his daughters as an excuse. Samuel said what we're all thinking - you won't be any closer to Argentina in Spain or Italy

Exactly.

That pisses me right off. Like I said on another thread, as a father of a young family I can fully understand his desire to be close to his family. HOWEVER, being in Italy, when his ex-missus and kid are in Argentina, has fuck all to do with being closer to his family. And that does my nut in. To use his kids as and excuse when it's clearly NOT about being closer to his family. Unless he considers that 18 year old Italian busty brunette he was with in Italy (when he asked for leave to be with his family!) to be his family.

Im sure i heard that he ex is willing to move but only to Spain, she doesn't want to live in the UK. Maybe she has said Italy is ok too.

Could possibly be, however, isn't there a custody he can claim? Like see his daughters so many times?

Guy does my head in. I wont believe anything he says about loyalty. He was interviewed a day or two before his transfer request and was banging on about how happy he was and that he'd stay. Stay or go mate whatever, City will arrive at the top.

ant london wrote:

Niall Quinns Discopants wrote:
We can't buy Kia off of anything. He is Tevez's agent there's not a chance he'd leave his favourite "friend".

Personally I'm still convinced he is off. Obviously saying all this crap because there are still couple of games where he'll play. I think he is going to Italy. Careerwise as stupid move as he can make at this stage but he is banging that fine Italian model ass.

Agree that there is no chance we could pay off Kia to sever links/stop acting for Carlos.

What we could do though is pay him off in the form of some kind of re-signing/loyalty type bonus to essentially compensate him for the fee he "forsakes" by not moving Carlos on.

Clearly we also have to do something to accomodate Tevez's family/model banging conundrum.

It's a big pain in the arse to have to handle for the club and a lot of moving parts BUT Tevez would be extraordinarily difficult to replace. I'm convinced that Dzeko and Mario will be much improved next season but are they sure to be able to step up and plug a 20+ goal gap that Carlos would leave....well, I'd not be wanting to take that risk.

If we bring back Adebayor and sign Drogba then I'd be tempted to just sell Carlos but handling Mario/Ade/Drog in the dressing room/on the bench is probably as big of an arseache as dealing with this Tevez fix.

Tough call but there are not many strikers even potentially out there (never mind actually available!) who could fill the void he would leave

I don't think it's impossible we could pay Kia to fuck off. If Tevez doesn't go soon, he'll never be worth a huge fee as he'll be too old so Kia needs to cash in now. If we tell him Tevez stays here whatever the outcome, he either takes the money or loses it. I think he'd rather have the money than just spened the next few years ruining Tevez & causing shit.

Re the family/model banging problem; if they move to Spain or Italy, they can visit him here & if we have a good rotation policy with enough quality strikers, he can fuck off over there on a regular basis & rest up for the big games. We end up with a fit, happy Tevez for all the big games. We know he'll put the effort in when he plays, so everybody wins.

Ted Hughes wrote:Not buying this family stuff as enough of a reason on its own for him to leave but not buying the idea he's keen to go either. Kia must be heavily involved in this. Whether Tevez feels he owes him because he got him out of the ghetto or whether he's helped Tevez' family in Argentina, or is some kind of Don Corleone over there; somehow he's got influence over Tevez & I recon we either buy him off or Tevez goes.

I take him purely at face value (once I've substituted 'Kia' for 'family' every time it crops up)

As far as im concerned tevez is the best striker in the prem and therefore the best in the world.

But i don't want to see city pander to him anymore, had enough of the will he stay will e go is he happy is he sad shit. He should be thankful of everything we have done for him and WANT to stay to repay the debt he owes us (and its a big one). We have gone above and beyond in our attempts to keep him happy. He should be thankful and see that repaid in trophies and success. For the club and the fans.

He's got a contract with us now, not Kia thingy. He can't walk away and theres no team in South America that can afford him. I think SoF is correct about his wife(ex?) happy to go to Spain. Probably because of the language thing. And Carlos never bothered to learn english. It will be an easier move for his kids to go to Spain.

Also, in the celebrations in the changing room after the final he didn't seen to be joining in. Anybody else notice that?

bigblue wrote:Don't cheat on your wife and family problem solved

It can't be easy when you're a good loking guy like Tevez is and all the ladies are flocking round..........