Tevez scored 20 league goals for Manchester City last season Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini has said that an agreement has been reached for the sale of Argentina striker Carlos Tevez to Corinthians.
A £39m bid from the Brazilian club was rejected last week, with City believed to be holding out for £50m.
Tevez, 27, had said he wanted to leave the Premier League outfit to spend more time with his family in his homeland.
"We have an agreement with Corinthians but Carlos now is still a City player," Mancini told Sky Sports News.
The Sao Paulo club, backed by revenue from a new television deal, want to make Tevez a landmark signing by taking him back to the club where he previously enjoyed success.
TEVEZ SAGA TIMELINE
12 December 2010 - Tevez says he is going to leave Manchester City
20 December 2010 - withdraws transfer request and commits future to club
16 May 2011 - says he will only stay at club if solution found to "family issues"
8 June 2011 - Tevez says he will never return to "small and wet" Manchester
4 July - confirms he is going to leave Manchester City
18 July - City boss Roberto Mancini says club have agreed to sell Tevez to Corinthians
Moving to South America would also help to solve Tevez's problem of being separated from his family.
Corinthians president Andres Sanchez claimed last week that Juventus had entered the race to sign Tevez but added his own club would not increase their offer.
However, Tevez's adviser Kia Joorabchian revealed a few days ago that a deal with Corinthians was "close", with the player himself keen on a return to the club he previously represented in 2005 and 2006.
The former West Ham forward, who joined City from Manchester United in the summer of 2009, is under contract with Mancini's side until June 2014.
Last season Tevez was joint top scorer in the Premier League, with 20 goals.
Asked whether Tevez would now be discussing personal terms, Mancini replied: "I don't know this. I repeat, at the moment, Carlos is still a City player."
Mancini is currently on his club's pre-season tour of North America and added: "I want to wait. At the moment we are here, we are working with the other guys. We should think about this."
If Tevez does go, his 23-year-old fellow countryman Sergion Aguero, who is rated at £45m by Atletico, is regarded as a natural replacement.
OR
Man City gives Tevez last chance to stay
Mancini keen to contact captain before finalising any deal
Manchester City are keen to talk to their home sick captain Carlos Tevez before agreeing to let him join Brazilian club Corinthians.
His return to South America is likely to be finalised in the next 48 hours if Tevez reiterates his desire to quit. FA Cup winners City are weighing up an improved bid of around £40 million from the ambitious Brazilian outfit, according to 'The Sun'.
Their Argentine striker was recovering on Sunday from his missed penalty which ended his nation’s Copa America dream as they lost to Uruguay on penalties.
Eastlands boss Roberto Mancini is keen to contact his captain but said: “I’ll probably speak to him but not right now because he is probably more upset than Arsene!
“But I am very sorry for him because it was a very important Copa America for Argentina.”
City are aware they have spent the summer speaking with Tevez’s agent Kia Joorabchian rather than the man himself.
And the club’s top brass are keen to chat to the striker before giving their blessing to his exit.
While the offer falls way short of their £50 million asking price, City are willing to take his personal circumstances into account and the excellent service he has given them.
They will then step up their bid for his Argentina team-mate Sergio Aguero of Atletico Madrid once Tevez’s exit is confirmed.
Last season’s City player of the year, Vincent Kompany insists the team will bounce back stronger if skipper Tevez leaves, the report added.
The man who stands to inherit the armband says nobody at the Etihad Stadium will be sitting around moping if he does go.
Belgian centre-back Kompany said: “Carlos is a great player but players come and go, it happens.
“I can say whoever goes, whoever stays we keep moving forward. We’ll get stronger and that’s something we can feel already.
“We’ve had great players, Robinho and others have moved on. With them it’s great, but without them we find a solution.
“The team is bigger than any player. Whether that’s me or Carlos or any player who leaves we’ll keep moving forward."
After winning the Cup and finishing third in the Premier League last term, Kompany is bullish about City’s prospects.
He said: “We’ve improved, we’ve got a stronger squad than last season because we’ve got the time to prepare all together. These are exciting times.”
Nedum Onuoha will fight for his Manchester City future
Onuoha has knuckled down to training with the reserves at Carrington and turned out in City’s friendly at Moss Lane while his team-mates are on tour.
Nedum Onuoha has vowed to prove that Roberto Mancini was wrong to leave him out of City’s North American tour.
The defender, 24, received a loud signal that his Blues days were numbered when he learned that he would be staying at home with a clutch of big-name outcasts.
Onuoha, Craig Bellamy, Jo, Wayne Bridge and Emmanuel Adebayor were among a group of players told by e-mail and text they would not be joining the touring first-team party this summer.
Those senior players have found it tough to hide their disappointment at the rejection and the fact that they were not told face-to-face.
But while Adebayor – who looks increasingly likely to join Real Madrid – threw a wobbler and flounced out, Onuoha and co have knuckled down to training with the reserves and youngsters at Carrington.
Academy graduate Onuoha, who has been with the Blues since he was 10, has been linked with Blackburn after spending last season on loan at Sunderland.
And though he does not want to leave the Etihad Stadium, he knows that he will probably have to go for the sake of his career.
As the first team prepared for victory over Club America in San Francisco on Saturday, Onuoha lined up alongside Bellamy, Michael Johnson and a clutch of youngsters in a City XI that won 2-1 at Altrincham.
The defender admitted he would rather have been in the States but is determined to fight back from the blow of missing the seniors’ tour.
“To be honest, we’re just being professional at the moment,” Onuoha said. “There’s a lot of disappointment about what happened and how it happened.
“You could say that people make mistakes and the situation could have been dealt with a bit differently.
“But as far as the players are concerned, none of us are down in the dumps. We’re just determined that we’re going to give everything we can.
“At the end of the day, we might not be on tour but we’ve not been shown the door so we’ve got to keep going.
“We’re still being paid by Manchester City. We’re in pre-season so it’s always going to be hard. But in any games you have, you should always try your best because you have to be ready for a big season.
“As far as I’m concerned, I’m going to keep going through pre-season. Nothing’s changed on my side and it’s the same with a few of the others too.
“It’s a case of coming in during the week, training hard and getting ready for any games that we have. I think the first team are back in just over a week’s time so things might be different then.”
Onuoha, whose City contract runs until 2014, insists that he will keep on pushing to regain a first-team place until the day he is shown the door.
He added: “I think I’ve been blessed and privileged to be able to play for my home-town club so many times.
“I’d love to stay and fight, and until someone tells me to jog on then I’ll keep trying.”
But having returned from his year in the North East to find he no longer has his own locker at City’s Carrington training ground, he knows the signs are not good.
“There have been a few structural changes since I’ve been away but that seems to happen every year anyway,” he said.
“I don’t have a locker, I don’t have a squad number now, but other than that, it’s same as.”
Shaun Wright-Phillips is desperate to prove he has a future with Manchester City.
The winger is in the final year of his contract and looks certain to be on his way out, The Sun reports.
But boss Roberto Mancini was impressed as he started and scored in City''s North American tour opener against Club America on Saturday and the Italian will keep the door open.
Wright-Phillips, 29, was quoted, as saying: "I''m working hard and I have no intention of going anywhere else. If they want to keep me I want to be here. That would be my ideal scenario and I''ve told the manager that.”
Manchester City's Kieran Trippier avoids a Bellamy rollicking
Craig Bellamy was outshone at Moss Lane by a 20-year-old full-back without a senior City appearance – but was happy to let it slide.
Bellamy was the biggest name on the pitch as a City XI won at Altrincham yet it was Kieran Trippier who stole the show.
Trippier, who captained a Blues side made up of youngsters and senior fringe players, struck a long-range winner two minutes before half-time after Joan Angel Roman had cancelled out Damian Reeves’ penalty.
It was the perfect way for the defender to celebrate his new three-year City contract, signed on Friday.
And afterwards, Bellamy – who played for 55 minutes before making a speedy exit – was happy to let Trippier do the talking.
The young right-back, a product of the City Academy, admitted that he had risked the Wales international’s wrath by going for goal. Trippier said: “I pushed forward and thought ‘I’m going to have a go here.’ But I had Bellamy screaming at me on the other side.
“I’m glad it went in otherwise I’d have got a bit of a rollicking. When it went in, he said: ‘I was going to rollick you then.’ And he started laughing.
“That’s what he’s like. He’s a good guy, and I’ve learned a lot from him.”
Trippier, who spent last season on loan at Championship side Barnsley, is keen to get some more first-team action under his belt this season but has acknowledged he will probably need to go out on loan again.
He said: “If a team came in for me with a loan offer, I’d consider it because I want to play games. Last season I played more than 35 games.
“I want to better myself, I’m only young and I need to learn. Going into the Championship would benefit me.”
Reserve team coach Andy Welsh was able to call on Bellamy and Nedum Onuoha after both were left out of City’s pre-season tour of North America.
Wayne Bridge and Jo had also been considered for the game but both were left out after suffering slight knocks in training, while Shay Given missed out as he finalised today’s move to Aston Villa.
Michael Johnson played the first 45 minutes as he continues his fightback from a near three-year injury nightmare and is set for another run-out when Welsh takes a City XI to Stalybridge on Wednesday.
Alty went in front after 90 seconds when Courtney Meppen-Walter brought down Shaun Densmore and Reeves drove the penalty under keeper Ian Lawlor.
Spanish youngster Roman stroked in a 35th-minute equaliser before Trippier struck the winner just before the break.
Devante Cole, 16-year-old son of former United and City striker Andy Cole, impressed as a second-half substitute with a powerful run and shot, well saved by on-trial keeper Josh Ollerenshaw, released by Oldham.
And there was a solid City debut too from Holland Under-17 centre-back Karim Rekik, just signed from Feyenoord.
Welsh said: “I thought the senior players were terrific, and I think the young boys can learn an unbelievable amount just from playing alongside them.
“Craig was desperate to play. He’s a fantastic professional. Nedum and Michael wanted to play too.
“Michael has had a tough time but he’s worked really well in training and it will get a bit of ring rust off him.”
Altrincham boss Lee Sinnott said: “It was a good test for us against a strong City side.”
Whitecaps players excited about Man City friendly
Given the disappointment over Saturday’s washed out Major League Soccer match between the Vancouver Whitecaps and Real Salt Lake, there will certainly be some healthy debate as to the benefits of mid-season international friendlies.
No Manchester City on Monday would have meant no temporary grass at Empire Field and, thus, no rain out.
But try telling that to the younger Whitecaps, who are craving a crack at the Abu Dhabi darlings.
“It’s a huge opportunity for us to see how we fare against some of the best players in the world,” said centre back Michael Boxall, a 22-year-old New Zealand international picked in this year’s supplemental draft after a college career at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
“It’s an opportunity of a lifetime,” added eighth-overall pick Michael Nanchoff out of the University of Akron, also 22.
This friendly doesn’t come at the best time for a Whitecaps team struggling for MLS survival at 2-10-8. They play in San Jose on Wednesday and goalkeeper Joe Cannon has essentially labelled the game a distraction for a squad desperate for an MLS victory.
For players like Boxall, though, the thrill is hard to hide.
He grew up an Arsenal fan, and while disappointed at the retirement of former Gunner Patrick Vieira, there’s still the potential of matching up against newly acquired French left-back Gael Clichy.
“I’m looking forward to seeing him in action personally,” said Boxall. “It’s something I’m very excited about. That’s who I’m aiming to stand next to when the final whistle blows.”
Most of the younger Whitecaps had particular players they were excited to face and, hopefully, trade shirts with.
For right-back Wes Knight it’s controversial Italian forward Mario Balotelli.
“He’s a nut, but I like to watch him play,” said Knight.
Most, though, admired players at their position.
Nanchoff, a left-footed midfielder from Ohio, loves Spanish playmaker David Silva.
“He’s a lefty like me,” Nanchoff said. “I kind of try to model my game after him. When the camera gets zoomed in on a guy after the game and he tries to get a jersey and gets completely rejected, that hopefully doesn’t happen to me.”
Jeb Brovsky, the Caps’ third pick in the draft, had a more amusing answer to a question about his post-game plan.
“I’ll just go for the coach’s scarf,” he said of Roberto Mancini.
“It’s a dream to play this game and it’s a good measure of where we want to be. These guys in the EPL (English Premier League), making the money they’re making. It’s a good barometer of where we are.
“I’d like to see where the gap is; how much faster they think, how much faster they play.”
It’s not a gap in wages; it’s a gulf.
The MLS salary budget is $2.675 million, though teams can spend beyond that by signing up to three “designated players,” like French forward Eric Hassli, who is Vancouver’s highest-paid player at $900,000 annually.
City, which has spent close to a billion dollars under Sheikh Mansour in the last three years, has players who make Hassli’s salary in three weeks.
The lowest-paid Whitecaps make $32,600 a year.
Caps coach Tommy Soehn said Monday’s game would be “something to look back on, especially for the young kids.”
He wanted to try and include a player or two from the residency program, but tournament rules prevented that. This game is part of the larger Herbalife World Football Challenge and also includes Manchester United, which plays the Sounders in Seattle on Wednesday.
City is coming off a 2-0 win over Mexican side Club America in San Francisco on Saturday.
Teams can dress 25 players and make 11 substitutions.
With the Whitecaps playing in San Jose on Wednesday, expectations are that youth will be served.
OTHER BOLLOX
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger expects to see midfielder Cesc Fabregas in a Gunners shirt on Saturday when the team play Cologne in a friendly. Daily Mirror
Meanwhile, Fabregas is pleading to Arsenal to be allowed to move back to Barcelona.Daily Mail
Peter Crouch is being tracked by QPR after Spurs signalled they would be willing to sell the striker this summer. Metro
West Brom are edging closer to completing a move for former England international Owen Hargreaves after admitting they are set to meet him this week. Talksport
Everton are weighing up a bid to take Arsenal striker Nicklas Bendtner on loan. Daily Mail
Blackpool are closing on a deal for Manchester United's Senegalese international forward Mame Biram Diouf. Daily Mail
Adel Taarabt moved a step closer to his QPR exit after being left out of the club's pre-season tour to finalise a move to Paris St Germain. The Mirror
Newcastle want Chelsea striker Daniel Sturridge on loan as boss Alan Pardew looks for a solution to his striker problems. The Mirror
Aston Villa lead Juventus and Liverpool in the race to sign Fiorentina's 27-year-old winger Juan Manuel Vargas. Footie-online.co.uk
Blackburn are facing a transfer crisis - with their Indian owners told to cut the club's overdraft before they can buy. Daily Mirror
Forward Salomon Kalou has told Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas he does not need to spend big to win back the Premier League. Daily Mirror
Chelsea fans will finally get to see defender Slobodan Rajkovic this week - nearly six years after he signed for them - after the Serb, 22, was included in Villas-Boas' squad which flew to Malaysia for the start of the Blues' pre-season tour. The Sun
Under-fire Fifa boss Sepp Blatter has been voted the biggest 'celebrity villain' of the past decade. Daily Mirror
Not only did a lightning strike cause the North Korean Women's World Cup team to lose to the USA, it also caused five of their players to test positive for drugs, according to the coach. Metro
BOLLOX BOLLOX
Aguero prepared to take a pay cut to join Man City??
Carlos Tevez is heading out of Manchester City – with Sergio Aguero ready to take his place.
Tevez came on for fellow countryman Aguero as Argentina were knocked out of the Copa America by Uruguay, with the unsettled City star missing the decisive penalty in a shoot-out.
And Aguero, the Atletico Madrid star he replaced, is lined up to fill his £40million boots if Tevez leaves City, possibly for Corinthians of Brazil.
Aguero is so keen to come to England he will even take a pay cut to make it happen. City are poised to give him a lucrative contract worth £160,000 a week – which is well short of what he makes at present.
Aguero is on £6m a year AFTER tax. To earn that at City he would need a huge £240,000 a week.
He could make nearer that at Juventus, but his father-in-law Diego Maradona is against that move.
