• Premier League

City chairman: Tevez case showed we won't be screwed

ESPN staff
July 5, 2012
Carlos Tevez's soap opera at Manchester City eventually had a happy ending © PA Photos
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Manchester City chairman Khaldoon al-Murabarak believes the club's resistance to selling Carlos Tevez in the January transfer window marked a victory in the battle against player power.

Tevez, 28, looked destined to leave City after his infamous clash with manager Roberto Mancini in which the Argentine refused to warm up during September's Champions League meeting with Bayern Munich.

Mancini initially stated the former Manchester United striker would not play for his side again, yet an exit failed to materialise in January despite interest from Inter and AC Milan.

Tevez ultimately returned to playing for City, after a six-month absence, and had a role in helping the club clinch their first Premier League title.

In a new book on City called Richer than God, the chairman said of the affair: "It was a landmark. We cannot allow ourselves, as a club, to be mucked around.

"It was a hell of a gamble for me, not to let him leave for AC Milan in January, because he could have sat out all year, but not played for us and lost his value. But I was firm that we are not rich people to be taken advantage of, to give him what he wants and let the market screw us."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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