Carlos Tevez’s turbulent Manchester City career is coming to an end after the Premier League club agreed to sell the Argentina striker to Juventus on Tuesday in a transfer worth up to £12 million (US$18.5 million).
A person familiar with the situation said the clubs negotiated a deal in London on Tuesday, with the 29-year-old Tevez still needing to finalize personal terms for a three-year deal and then pass a medical examination. The move could be completed this week.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity to confirm British media reports because he was not authorized to discuss details of a deal that is yet to be completed.
By adding the transfer fee to wages and bonuses due in the final year of his contract, City are set to save about £27 million by offloading Tevez.
The hardworking striker joined City in 2009 after leaving local rivals Manchester United and has played an integral role in the club’s rise as a Premier League force, eventually becoming their captain.
He helped City end their trophy drought by winning the FA Cup in 2011, with the Premier League title arriving the following season.
However, his four-year spell at the club will forever be remembered by his refusal to come on as a substitute in a Champions League match against Bayern Munich in September 2011, sparking a major fall-out with then-manager Roberto Mancini.
After being told by Mancini that he would never play for City again, Tevez went on unauthorized leave to Argentina and only returned to Manchester with three months to go that season after failing to secure a move away.
The move to Juve, who won the Serie A title by nine points last season, ends Tevez’s seven-year stint in English soccer after first moving to the Premier League in 2006 to join West Ham United.
At West Ham, who he joined in 2007, Tevez won two league titles and the Champions League — linking up with Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo in a spell-binding forward lineup.
His cross-town departure to City was made even more memorable by the “Welcome to Manchester” poster erected by City fans, infuriating their neighbors.
With City having sold Mario Balotelli to AC Milan in January, they have only Sergio Aguero and Edin Dzeko as recognized strikers in the squad. Sweden striker John Guidetti is highly rated and may be handed a chance to prove himself at Etihad Stadium next season.
However, new City manager Manuel Pellegrini is almost certain to dip back into the transfer market to bolster his forward line, which would add to the signings of Spain winger Jesus Navas and Brazil midfielder Fernandinho this offseason.
City have also been linked to SSC Napoli striker Edinson Cavani.
Shohei Ohtani and his wife arrived in South Korea with his Los Angeles Dodgers teammates yesterday ahead of their season-opening games with the San Diego Padres next week. Ohtani, wearing a black training suit and a cap backwards, was the first Dodgers player who showed up at the arrival gate of Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul. His wife, Mamiko Tanaka, walked several steps behind him. As a crowd of fans, many wearing Dodgers jerseys, shouted his name and cheered slogans, Ohtani briefly waved his hand, but did not say anything before he entered a limousine bus with his wife. Fans held placards
Taiwan’s Tai Tzu-ying yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals at the All England Open, beating Kim Ga-eun of South Korea 21-17, 21-15. With the win, Tai earned a semi-final against China’s He Bingjiao, who beat Michelle Li of Canada 21-9, 21-9. Defending champion An Se-young defeated India’s P.V. Sindhu 21-19, 21-11. An on Wednesday cruised into the second round, unlike last year’s men’s winner, Li Shifeng, who suffered a shock defeat. South Korea’s An, the world No. 1, overcame Taiwan’s Hsu Wen-chi 21-17, 21-16 to set up the match against Sindhu. In other women’s singles matches, Taiwan’s Sung Shuo-yun lost 21-18, 24-22 against Carolina Marin of
EYEING TOP SPOT: A victory in today’s final against Storm Hunter and Katerina Siniakova would return 38-year-old Hsieh Su-wei to the world No. 1 ranking Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens on Thursday secured a spot in the women’s doubles finals at the BNP Paribas Open after dispatching Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez 6-2, 7-6 (7/5) at Indian Wells. Hsieh and her Belgian partner Mertens, who won the Australian Open in late January, coasted through the first set after breaking their opponents’ serve twice, but found the going tougher in the second. Both pairs could only muster one break point over 12 games, neither of which were converted, leaving the set to be decided by a tiebreaker. Hsieh and Mertens took a 6-3 lead,
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