• Serie A

Tevez insists he was not forced out of City

a href="/espn/sport/player/73956.html">Carlos Tevez, who has joined Juventus, has said he asked to leave Manchester City after deciding his time at the Etihad Stadium had come to an end.

Tevez, 29, completed a €9 million move to the Serie A champions on Wednesday and, speaking at his unveiling, described his eventful time with City as "beautiful".

The Argentina international striker scored 74 goals for the club, captaining them to their FA Cup final win in 2011 and helping them lift the Premier League trophy 12 months later.

But he was also fined and suspended after refusing to go on as a substitute against Bayern Munich in September 2011, lost the captaincy and made frequent transfer requests.

His departure was more amicable, and he told the Italian media: "I thank Juventus for the effort they have made to bring me here. And I thank Manchester City for the beautiful years they gave me."

Tevez, who also played for West Ham and Manchester United during his time in England, said he had informed new City manager Manuel Pellegrini that it was time for a change.

He added: "I talked to Pellegrini, telling him that I wanted to go away from Manchester City because I considered my cycle ended there."

Tevez, who wore the number 32 shirt in the Premier League, has been given Juventus' iconic number ten shirt, last worn by club record goalscorer Alessandro del Piero.

He said: "The number ten shirt is an important responsibility because it was [worn by] a number of great champions of the past. The last one was Del Piero. For me, it is an honour to wear his shirt."

Tevez was a target for AC Milan during the 2012 transfer windows, but said he had not had any contact with the Rossoneri since then.

He explained: "The interest from AC Milan? Let me be very clear. I spoke with Adriano Galliani just one year ago, and two or three times in my life.

"Now I'm a Juventus player and I'm happy here. I can give the team my experience and my quality."

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