Manchester City completed the signing of Argentine striker Carlos Tevez after he passed a medical, the Premier League side said yesterday.
Tevez, who spent the last two seasons at Manchester United under a lease agreement after a spell with West Ham United, was Abu Dhabi-owned City’s third major signing since the end of last season.
They also splashed out for Aston Villa midfielder Gareth Barry and Blackburn Rovers striker Roque Santa Cruz as they look to challenge the top four teams in the league.
City have also been linked with a Chelsea captain John Terry and Arsenal striker Emmanuel Adebayor.
The prospect of City attracting more of the world’s best players to the team spurred Tevez to join the club.
“This is the chance to be involved from the start, an opportunity to help build a special experience,” Tevez said ahead of his unveiling yesterday.
FIVE-YEAR DEAL
Tevez signed a five-year deal with a club that hasn’t won the league title since 1968, but has been able to spend freely since being bought last September by Sheikh Mansour, a member of Abu Dhabi’s royal family.
“There is a great feeling of excitement around the club,” Tevez said. “Look at the quality of the players who have been signed and the prospect of other top-quality players coming, too. Things are happening at this club.”
“The owners made it clear to me that they will be doing everything in their power to make this an extraordinary club to play for. I look forward to being part of that experience,” he said.
The group that owned Tevez’s economic rights was asking clubs to pay £25.5 million (US$41 million) to sign him permanently. The league and Football Association ratified the deal, giving City total registration rights and ending the contract dispute that has lingered since Tevez joined West Ham in 2006.
PHONE CALLS
Meanwhile, United boss Sir Alex Ferguson said Tevez ignored his phone calls and text messages as he tried to persuade the striker to stay at the club.
Ferguson said on Monday that he made repeated attempts to keep Tevez before his two-year loan deal expired last month.
“I half expected Carlos Tevez would be going a long time back,” Ferguson said in his first public comments since Tevez rejected United last month.
“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,” Ferguson said.
“He was a good player and did well for us. But he obviously assessed the situation and wanted to go somewhere else,” the Scot said.
Jobe Bellingham on Tuesday admitted to having “anxieties” on following in brother Jude’s footsteps after joining Borussia Dortmund in the summer. Jobe Bellingham, 19, is two years younger than Jude Bellingham, who joined Real Madrid in 2023 after three years at Dortmund. A centerpiece of the England national team, Jude Bellingham has emerged as one of the best players in the world in recent seasons. The younger Jobe Bellingham joined Dortmund in June from Sunderland after their promotion to the English Premier League. He admitted he understood what the perception would be ahead of the move to Germany. “It’s something you do think about.
Before Tuesday’s 7-2 win at the Atlanta Braves, Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy suggested “most people couldn’t tell you five players on our team.” A look at the standings would indicate more Brewers players soon will be recognized by more fans. After all, it is difficult to overlook a team that not only continues to extend their lead in the National League Central, but also boasts the best record in the majors. “What we’re doing in here right now is special,” right-handed pitcher Freddy Peralta said after allowing only four hits and one run in five innings, while setting a career high with
Carlos Alcaraz on Sunday fought through a second-set slump to post a roller-coaster 6-1, 2-6, 6-3 victory over Damir Dzumhur in his opening match at the Cincinnati Open. The Spaniard, playing his first tournament since losing to Jannik Sinner in the Wimbledon final, raced through the first set, but completely lost his way in the second, dropping his serve twice against the 33-year-old Bosnian. Alcaraz regained his intensity and cut down his errors in the third set as a seventh ace took him to a match point that was converted when Dzumhur fired wide. “It was just a roller coaster,” said the second
NEXT ROUND: World No. 1s Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka opened their title defenses with straight-sets wins, while Iga Swiatek and Taylor Fritz also advanced Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka got their title defenses off to smooth starts as they powered into the third round of the ATP-WTA Cincinnati Open on Saturday. The men’s and women’s top seeds, each ranked No. 1 in the world, were both competing for the first time since Wimbledon, where Sinner lifted the title and Sabalenka bowed out in the women’s semi-finals. Sinner crushed Colombian Daniel Elahi Galan 6-1, 6-1 in steamy afternoon weather, while Sabalenka beat 2023 Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova 7-5, 6-1 under the lights of the night session. Sabalenka needed 54 minutes and a service break in the final game
RSS