Furious Chinese soccer fans yesterday branded Carlos Tevez shameless and “a rat” after the Argentine striker described his ill-fated spell at Shanghai Shenhua as a “holiday for seven months.”
The 33-year-old struggled for form and fitness during a disastrous stint in China, where he was among the best-paid players in the world on a reported weekly salary of 730,000 euros (US$892,000).
He brought his Chinese nightmare to a premature end when he returned to Boca Juniors earlier this month and on Monday joked with Argentine television channel TyC Sports: “It’s fine, because I was on holiday for seven months.”
That prompted an outpouring of anger on Chinese social media, with fans of a number of Chinese Super League clubs rounding on the man often disparagingly labeled “very homesick boy.”
“Football hooligan, please get your arse out and never return to China again. Scum,” a user wrote on a Chinese microblogging site.
“I wonder if there is anyone more shameless than him,” another added.
Tevez missed half of Shenhua’s league games injured, out of form or out of shape, and when he did play, he failed to justify his hefty pay check, scoring just four league goals.
As well as hitting out at Tevez, whose previous clubs include Manchester United, Manchester City and Juventus, Chinese fans also said Shenhua should take same of the blame.
“After looking at Tevez’s interview, my heart as a Chinese football fan is again deeply hurt,” another wrote. “While we are chasing Tevez like a rat crossing the street, China’s [soccer] managers should also do some good self-reflection.”
In contrast, Tevez has been welcomed back for his third stint at Boca and has a supporter in Argentine great Diego Maradona.
“He filled Santa’s sack with dollars and came back to Boca,” Maradona was quoted as saying by Argentine TV earlier this month.
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