Football Daily - The Carlos Tevez Story

Episode Date: June 21, 2025

Carlos Tevez is a player often overlooked when reminiscing about the greatest South Americans to play in the Premier League. But why? When he was at his peak, he devastated defences with trickery, Argentinian toughness, and goals that won his clubs countless trophies. His ex-teammate Wayne Rooney told us that Tevez “was his favourite strike partner”, while Joe Hart described him as “the catalyst who helped change the mentality of Manchester City”. Maybe Tevez is often forgotten because, along with the riches and skills, Tevez had a list of controversies that followed him around wherever he went. Whether it was his refusal to come off the bench in a key Champions League game, moving between rival clubs, or even the issues around who actually owned him, Carlos Tevez’s seven year stay in the Premier League was a white knuckle, rollercoaster ride. But despite all that - speak to most fans, and they’ll tell you they love him. This episode of Football Daily is hosted by football writer and Copa 90 presenter, Eugene Noble, and seeks to unravel the controversies of Carlos Tevez’s fascinating career, to show just how unique and brilliant a player he was. To understand his rags to riches story, Eugene takes us back to Argentina to see how the man was made. From growing up in a crime filled tower block to being discovered playing on the streets of Buenos Aires, we chart his move from Argentina to London when he stunned everyone to join West Ham. We’ll hear from his ex-teammate Bobby Zamora about culture clashes in the dressing room, and how they formed a partnership which led to the great escape. We’ll then explore his time at both Manchester clubs, delving into all the controversies, the goals and the trophies along the way, with Wayne Rooney, Joe Hart, and many others. The Carlos Tevez story is a thrilling one, offering unique insight, stories and first hand accounts on his career. And Tevez has still got it as well - in June 2025 he scored 4 goals in Soccer Aid at age 41. But do his controversies add to his myth? Or could he have achieved even higher heights if he was a bit better behaved? And is Tevez the most archetypal Argentinian player since Diego Maradona?

This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the UK. Welcome to The Inside Track with me, Rick Edwards. This is the podcast that takes you inside Formula One and Red Bull Racing like never before. And I'm Matt Magindy. And thanks to my exclusive access, I'll be getting up close and personal with Red Bull Racing this season. And this week I'll be answering your questions and you can literally ask me anything. I just think Matt will probably regret that. 2023 Dutch Grand Prix, I think it was practice, he crashed and he left one hand on the steering

wheel and ended up breaking his wrist. Experience Formula One like never before by tuning into the inside track wherever you get your podcasts. BBC Sounds music radio podcasts South Americans in the Premier League it's a love story that goes back decades from Juninho at Middlesbrough and Norberto Solano at Newcastle in the 90s, Desuarez, Aguero, Mascherano, Alexi Sanchez and then the Brazilian contingent of the 2010s, Coutinho, Bobby Firmino, Oscar, Ramirez, Fernandinho, Gabriel Jesus. It's the smorgasbord of attacking talent. Those old cliches of speed, tricks and flair all seem to ring true.

But there's a name who often gets left off that list of South American Premier League greats. A name that conjures delight in the minds of some fans and fury in others. But this player is, in many ways, the most archetypal Argentinian player to play the game since Maradona. His name? Carlos Tevez. A South American who scored goals himself and served them on a plate for others. Top class player who really kind of helped change the mentality at Manchester City. He delighted and enamoured fans in Brazil and in England. As an Argentinian, I can't think of another player who's done that. Tevez had it all. Dogged, aggressive, a proper baller.

Tenacious, I think Carlos was my favourite strike partner to play alongside. He'd always give you 100% blood, sweat and tears. And aside from his raw talent and fight, he forged devastating partnerships at numerous top-flight winning teams. Remember Tevez, alongside Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo at Manchester United? Rooney certainly does. We spoke to defenders of playing against, they absolutely hated playing against the two of us

and we could feel that we knew we were nasty as well and could score goals. Then at Manchester City, he formed an unstoppable partnership with fellow Argentine Sergio Aguero, starting the conveyor belt of trophies on the other side of Manchester. Joe Hart was between the sticks back then. He led, he worked, he fought, he harried and he sprinkled that star dust on top as well.

But Tevez didn't just do it to win league titles. He spearheaded a west hand with Bobby Zamora that led to one of the most dramatic great escapes ever. Going down to the last game of the season of course, which was Manchester United away, meant to come away with a win there and obviously Carlos scoring and claiming to insist on that. So why, despite all of that, does Tevez sometimes get forgotten amongst the greats? Was it that he looked like he'd been transported into modern football from the 1970s with his untucked shirt and rolled down socks?

Could it be the fact he was pretty casual on the training pitch? Or never spoke English? Maybe. I think if you say to Argentinian football fans, Carlos Tevez, they will smile. Although there's incidents. Incidents is an understatement. Perhaps Tevez's name is viewed with some trepidation because at every single club he went to, he caught in real controversy. I'm Eugene Noble, a football writer and presenter at Copa 90. In this documentary for BBC Five Lives Football Daily, I want to tell you the story of a player who set the Premier League alight but remains one of the most controversial Premier League players

ever. Very instinctive, off the cuff, intense, any clapping at any moment. So why do fans continue to love him despite the mayhem he caused off the pitch? He'd roll his sleeves up, he'd get his hands dirty, throw himself into it. And does Tevez deserve to have his name up there with the greats of Argentina? Is he an emblem of the country's footballing psyche? From Copa 90 and the Football Daily, this is the Carlos Tevez story.

Naturally, any conversation about Carlos Tevez starts in his hometown of Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina. Football here in Buenos Aires is a religion. Everywhere you turn, there's a nod to the beautiful game. And the country backs up their love of the game with on-field talent. Argentina has a tradition of producing elite top-flight players who then go and spread their talent all over the world. That's not new. It's been happening almost for as long as the game's being played out there, which is a very long time.

Marcela Mora Iaraujo is a football writer covering South American sport. She translated Diego Maradona's autobiography and co-wrote Ozzy Adile's autobiography. She's a Buenos Aires native. There's something about the folklore, I suppose, of the fiddly tricks, the dribbling, the skillful possession of the ball and this idea that the universal appeal of the game,

which could be anybody can play it and you don't even actually need a ball. Argentina has produced arguably the finest players to ever play the game. And the two that stand head and shoulders above the rest, Lionel Messi and Diego Maradona. They each represent a different side of Argentinian football. Menotti, who was the Argentina manager that won the 1978 World Cup, once referred to Maradona as the king, side of Argentinian football. above anything. He symbolizes something much more sort of widespreading.

The Argentinian national team holds the highest position for any Argentinian. And why shouldn't they? They've won the World Cup a hat trick of times. First in 1978, then in 1986, when we saw Maradona's hand of God. And most recently in 2022. That win in 1978 was enormous for the country.

The tournament was actually hosted in Argentina with the final in Buenos Aires. It literally changed the face of the city. Back then, Buenos Aires had huge levels of poverty. It still does today. So before the 78 World Cup, residents were controversially moved out of widespread slums in the centre to tower blocks outside the city, allegedly to make things safer for the influx of international visitors.

This new area outside the city became known for its high crime rate and drug usage. Very early on, it got the nickname Fort Apache. It got the name from a journalist who went to write about this place and got caught in a crossfire of shooting between rival gangs. And he was broadcasting live and he said, oh my God, this feels like Fort Apache. Fort Apache is actually a 1948 western starring John Wayne and Henry Fonda. This new area they created in Buenos Aires, it had all the chaos and vibrancy of the Wild West. It's an incredible place.

The filmmakers have documented the sort of ambiance, the rumor was the police were too scared to go in. Another rumor is that when one gang leader died, another danced on his coffin, shooting up in the air. Why are we talking about these tower blocks? Because it was into this maelstrom of crime, poverty and football that Carlos Tevez was born in 1984.

Throughout his career, Tevez had the nickname El Apache. It's the way he harries the ball, the way he tricks people, and then causes devastation with his aggression and determination. Marcella says he learned all of this in the place he grew up. Really football is what kids do in these areas and particularly in Fuerte Apache. So kids use rags or bottle tops, fruit and they just enjoy and delight in this kind of dance with a ball. The thing in Argentina we call the gambeta which is

a sort of cross between dribbling and dummying your opponent. Tevez emerges in that culture. Tevez's surname at the time was actually Martinez, something which would cause some confusion down the line. He was brought up by his aunt and uncle, Mr. and Mrs. Tevez. After a horrific domestic accident saw him receive terrible burns on his neck and face, he spent two months in intensive care. His mum eventually lost custody. His uncle and aunt took the young Carlos Martinez under their wing. In recent years, Tevez has spoken about his relationship with his uncle and the effects

he felt from fighting in the Falklands War. Now, if you don't know about the Falklands War, it was a conflict in the 1980s between Argentina and the UK over who controlled a set of islands in the South Atlantic. Tevez's uncle's experience is what drove him to alcoholism, a fact that Tevez would remember and hold against the UK in years to come. But we'll come back to that later. Let's get back to football, as it's this that a young Tevez excelled at. Tevez was discovered there by a football scout who saw him not playing in one of the little kiddie pitches, but rather on his own barefoot to the side.

But he was so skillful and delightful to watch that people started asking who was this little boy and they were referred to his uncle's flat. The uncle said, no, he can't go and play football anywhere because he doesn't have any shoes. So I often think that Tevez's initial transfer if you like was a pair of trainers so he could go and train with the other kids aged about five or six. Despite the poverty he was living under, Tevez's skills were quickly spotted. He started playing in a little kiddie football club run by a man called Ramon Madoni, which is a respected institution where a lot of eminent

Argentinian household name elite players started their career if you like as children. Ramon adored Carlos Tevez, who was at that time called Martinez, or as Carlitos, and instituted something called the Monday Dining Room for children who wanted to, could stay and have dinner on a Monday night after training at the little club. Madoni told me years later that he did this partly

so Tevez would get a meal. Fast forward a few years and it wasn't just scouts who were spotting Tevez's talons. Even Marcella was. In 1999 I had the rather lovely and unique experience of attending Wembley Stadium with a group of 14 and 15 year old Argentinian players who'd come for a small tournament to give the kids the experience of travel and international competition and the flavor of what a professional life might entail. And I remember watching them practice, watching them train and then sitting on the bench while the match was going on. And I asked Hugo Tokali, who was at the time the

manager of this particular group of children, which one of those kids should I watch out for? You know, which one was going to be the household name? And he, without any hesitation, said the little one with a scar and that was Carlos Tevez. He was at the time 14 years old so I kept an eye on him. Kids from poverty stricken places like Forte Pache are normally written off and kids like Tevez with scars and from broken homes. Well you wouldn't give them a chance. But in Argentinian football, it gave him a certain aura. Since the early 20th century, football has been explicitly lorded as part of the Argentinian national psyche. And the players they love most? Those who are gritty,

clever, cunning and tough. Like the Gauchos who used to roam the plains of southern Argentina, and the street urchins, known as pibes, who came to fill its city streets. Urchins like one Diego Maradona and maybe later, Carlos Tevez. The point I think with Carlos Tevez is that he truly symbolises something that's very connected to the dream of football. very much like Maradona did. Tevez quickly went on to make his debut for his boyhood club, the legendary Boca Juniors, aged just 16. He set the league alight, scoring goals, winning player awards. And Boca acknowledged this by giving Tevez the number 10 shirt, a shirt previously worn by Diego Maradona. A new air of Argentinian football was rising.

Despite interest from Atletico Madrid and Bayern Munich, Tevez moved from Boca Juniors to Corinthians, a club based in Brazil, for 16 million dollars in cash and a few youth players. A deal so big, it broke the Brazilian transfer record at the time. Over in Sãoo Paulo he immediately got the fans on his side by talking about his upbringing and saying I am delighted if they see me as one of them. And on the pitch he continued where he left off too, scoring 33 goals and 7 assists but despite such admiration controversy was never far away. He got stripped

of the captain's armband, had a fight in training with a fellow player, had run-ins with referees and fans too. Tevez was adored by the fans, a rare feat for an Argentine in Brazil. He was a player with the world at his feet, a young South American, just 22 years old, who it looked like had his choice of elite European clubs. There was Barcelona, Real Madrid, Manchester United, Arsenal, Bayern and AC Milan all

reported to be in for him. But out of nowhere, he surprised the footballing world by moving to... West Ham. The football world was shocked, stunned even. Tevez and his Corinthians teammate Javier Mascherano had signed for West Ham on the 31st of August 2006. Here's a clip taken from Sky Sports Retro where Alan Pardue, the West Ham manager at the time, had his say about the deal. Most of you are in me here for the intrigue that surrounds this move. Let's be honest, it is intriguing.

It's intriguing to me. But to be honest, I don't care. This West Ham team was not known for its skill or flair. This was a team that included Marlon Harewood and Colton Cole. They had finished in a very respectable knife position the season before. But even so, West Ham signing two of South America's finest young talents was more than a coup. It was bizarre.

Didn't know about Carlos, didn't know about Javier either. Obviously they came as a duo. Obviously playing for Argentina, you obviously have something about you. Bobby Zamora is a name all Premier League fans remember with a huge fondness and a true Barclaysman. He played for West Ham between 2004 and 2008, and it was during this time he was joined by Carlos Tevez. He tells me it wasn't just a surprise for him seeing Tevez and Javier join West Ham. The culture shock the other way around was equally dramatic.

We had a real funny bunch of lads at Watchtower. Majority young English guys, all on the same wavelength, all on the same banter. It was a very, very funny place. So for those guys to come in probably was, well, not a shock because they'd never experienced anything other than what they knew anyway. So it was always going to be a bit of a surprise to them. Tevez actually refused to learn English because of his uncle, the one driven to alcoholism over his experience fighting against the British in the Falklands War. But the culture in the West Ham dressing room was pretty tough to navigate if he didn't speak the language.

When I remember day one, Carlos coming in with his crazy hair, he had like mad, mad hair. And him not understanding the word of English, Tabanna was flying with all of the lads. And there's a picture actually, me and Marlon, in between Carlos, I think with our arms around him, he's got his big crazy hair. And obviously the photographer's taking photos. We're obviously speaking out lads with all the lads like, man, your hair is horrendous. Like, what? You're going to have to get this sorted out. He obviously has no idea, smiling away. So yeah, that was a bit of an introduction for him to the changing room.

But Tevez wasn't here for the dressing room culture. He was here to set pitches alight and cause problems for defenses throughout the Premier League. His 2006-2007 season started with Alan Pardue as manager. But following a tough autumn and winter Pardue was replaced in mid-january by Alan Kurbishly Another classic Barclays name Kurbishly came into a West Ham languishing in 18th having just been battered 4-0 by a rampant Bolton

The Hammers were staring down the barrel of relegation Could Tevez, one of South America's hottest properties, be getting ready for life down in the championship? Well, Tevez took matters into his own hands. Great escape was memorable, going down to the last game of the season, of course, which was Manchester United away, meant to come away with a win there,

and obviously, Carlos scoring and claiming insist on that. West Ham went on a run of seven wins in their last nine games. It was unreal and Tevez, well he was the hero. He'd scored seven goals in that run. For that extraordinary feat, Tevez is remembered with a huge fondness by West Ham fans. But not everyone looks back at that feat with the same happy memories. Carlos Tevez kept West Ham in the Premier League. His goal against Manchester United in the last match of the 2007 season

sent Sheffield United down. But his right to play has always been challenged. And so begins another one of the many great controversies of Carlos' career. Because while the great escape was on, the signings of Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano were being investigated by the Premier League. This is because both players were signed under third-party ownership. Something which is very common in South America, but is a bit of a thorny issue in the Premier League. Speculation about

what this means was rife, even in the dressing room too. Obviously towards the back end of the season there was talk of court cases and point deductions. There was obviously the paper talk about what could happen but had no idea really. Third party ownership is fairly Ron Seale stuff, it's what it says on the tin, referring to a situation where a player's economic rights are owned in full or in part by a third party, rather than solely by the football club the player is registered with. That third party might be an individual, a fund or even an agency. So who owned Tevez and Mascarano?

It turned out they were owned by a third party, an offshore company called MSI. When the Premier League discovered this, they fined West Ham £5.5 million, but did not deduct points. MSI, or Media Sports Investment Limited, folded in 2008. They were the UK arm of Just Sports Inc. MSI were described as a London-based international investment fund, with a number of investors mainly based in both Britain and Russia. Tevez had been involved with MSI for a while, but transfers had always been an issue, especially

when he was a teenager, because if you remember, his name was still Martinez. Marcella told me some more about this. By the time he signs for B Boca Juniors as a teenager, and there is a terrible issue with his name because he adopts his uncle's name, Teves, and he'd been registered under Martinez in a different club, and so the club sues Boca over the transfer rights. Once Boca sells him on to Corinthians

for quite a lot of money in Brazil, he's a very young man and he's already incredibly sort of tied up to scandal and legal wrangles and issues of transfers. That's never left him in his life. He then moves from Corinthians to West Ham and an incredibly complicated deal that was never quite clearly understood. But the story of Tevez third-party ownership gets stranger still, and adds even more to the Tevez intrigue. Because MSI, that fund who owned Tevez, were rumored to be involved

with some really strange company. to look at the rules surrounding third-party ownership. And all of this, Tevez just seems to be dribbling with a slightly snotty nose and his sort of crooked teeth through the middle of these enormous, enormous international stories of money and corruption and gangsters. Now, this was all going on in the background as Tevez helped West Ham get enough points to stay in the Premier League for another season, sinking Sheffield United down to the Championship. So when Tevez scored at Old Trafford on the last day of the season against Manchester

United, with the question who actually owned Tevez on its way to court, Sheffield United were obviously livid. In football, points deductions are a form of penalty applied to a team's league standing for a breach of rules, most commonly involving financial irregularities, misconduct or failure to comply with regulations. However, a point deduction hadn't happened in this instance. Sheffield United say this sent them down and are demanding some £30.4 million in compensation. £21.8 million they say was lost largely due to less television income. £4 million was lost on the sale of players

like Phil Jagielka, whose contracts had a relegation break clause, and £4.6 million a decline in commercial revenue. A lot of money. Some 16 months later, an independent arbitration hearing ruled in favour of Sheffield United. And the following year, an out-of-court compensation package was agreed between West Ham and Sheffield United at a reported £18.1 million. As a result, the Premier League tightened up their rules around third-party ownership. All because of one man, Carlos Tevez, once again in the eye of the storm. Tevez actually finished his West Ham career by scoring that controversial winner against

Manchester United at Old Trafford. Manchester United manager at the time, Sir Alex Ferguson, saw something in him, and just like so many times before, he nabbed that player for himself. Come August, Carlos Tevez had joined the Red Devils. West Ham side who were getting the grips with life without Carlos Tevez, his protracted move to Old Trafford which dominated this summer's headlines was finally completed yesterday. Tevez joined Man United on a two-year loan, but further confusion and controversy ensued.

Attached to his loan was a £2 million fee, and Man United didn't know who they needed to pay. And equally, there were question marks about how Tevez would fit in on the pitch. Was his playing style matched with United's highest ever goal scorer Wayne Rooney? I went to the man himself to find out. When Carlos joined Man United there was a lot of talk about could me and Carlos play up front together which I was really excited when we saw him because obviously the way he played I'd played against him a few times and really liked the way he played and I felt we could really have a good relationship on the pitch. And we were similar in ways in how we played, both worked hard, could both play us in the arm,

both play us off of forward as well. And so, yeah, I was excited. And then eventually when we did start playing, it would be done really well to them. Their relationship off the pitch was surprisingly good too, even though Tevez was still refusing to learn English. We had a really good understanding of chemistry. On the pitch, off the pitch, good too, even though Tevez was still refusing to learn English. We had a really good understanding of chemistry. Off the pitch I used to pick him up to take

him to the airport before Champions League games and it was interesting actually because we couldn't really have a conversation. I think his English was better, he could understand it better than what he let on I think. Tevez made appearances off the bench early on, but quickly settled into the team. The formation was then changed to a 4-3-3 to accommodate a front three of Ronaldo, Rooney and Tevez. They were one of the most potent strike forces the Premier League has ever seen, and may ever see. He's a player who'd always won your team and scored some great goals for us, a big moment for us as well. Two years at Manchester, two leagues,

the Champions League, so it was a massive path. Once they finally clicked, you started to see some of the best I've ever seen in a Man United shirt. Adam McCollough is a Manchester United superfan and presenter on Stretford Paddock, the Man United fan channel. The flicks and the tricks, it was almost like you had York and Cole but with an added partner with some of the football that we were

seeing playing and look Cristiano Ronaldo took on the mantelpiece for scoring a lot of the goals but he doesn't get those goals without the work rate and the ingenuity and the skill and the trickery and the creativity of Wayne Rooney and Carlos Cevez. In his first season Manchester United went on to win the and the trickery and the creativity of Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez. In his first season Manchester United went on to win the league and then Champions League beating Chelsea on penalties in the heavy rain of Moscow. Tevez successfully converted his while John Terry as we all remember couldn't quite do the same.

In his second season 2008-200, United won the league once more. They also added the League Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup to the list of trophies. The team were bagging goals and dispatching anyone in their way. But at the end of that season, trouble was brewing. Welcome to The Inside Track with me, Rick Edwards. This is the podcast that takes you inside Formula One and Red Bull racing like never before. I'm Matt Magindy, and thanks to my exclusive access, I'll be getting up close and personal with Red Bull Racing this season. This week, I'll be answering your questions, and you

can literally ask me anything. I think Matt will probably regret that. 2023 Dutch Grand Prix, I think it was practice, he crashed and he left one hand on the steering wheel and ended up breaking his wrist. Experience Formula One like never before by tuning into the inside track wherever you get your podcasts. It's the end of the 2008-2009 Premier League season. And we're now two years into Carlos Tevez's time at Old Trafford. But his loan deal is rapidly running out. What I do remember from being in the stands was an overwhelming swell of support and a constant chorus of Fergie Fergie Saini-Mott.

chorus of Fergie Fergie signing off. Whenever Carlos Hevers touched the ball, whenever Carlos Hevers scored a goal, there were constant demands for United to sign him up permanently. He was one of United's top players, adored by fans and lethal on the pitch. Signing him on a full contract would be the obvious choice, right? So you have to understand the situation that was happening in the city of Manchester. Obviously, Carlos Tevez, he was tearing up trees for United. Emily Brobin is a freelance sports journalist who predominantly works with BBC Radio Manchester.

I asked her about Tevez's time at Manchester United. He was one of their pivotal star players, really exciting, really crucial to the successes on the pitch. Silverware, Fergie absolutely loved him and he was a fan favourite. Ultimately Fergie wasn't willing to pay the fee that was demanded for Carlos Tevez so Carlos said ultimately well if you're not willing to pay for me then off I go. Now if you think Emily is sounding pretty happy about that it's because while she works with BBC Radio Manchester it's the sky blue side of the city who she supports. After two years on loan at Man United, Carlos

Tevez would do the unthinkable. A move only a handful of players have done in the past and typically a move a player would only dare to do for one last pay day. But Tevez, he was at the peak of his powers. I don't think anybody could have anticipated the direction of travel for Carlos Tevez and the direction of travel led him across the other side of the city to their rivals Manchester City. Manchester City, who'd recently been taken over by Sheikh Mansour of Abu Dhabi, were hungry to make a statement to the footballing world. And on the 14th of July 2009, out of

nowhere they did exactly that. Carlos Tevez, who has won consecutive Premier League title medals with United, is due to be introduced as a City player this afternoon. Wow, it caused the biggest uproar. It was such a coup for City at the time because City have overcome the takeover. They're looking to make a real statement to send shockwaves through World Football. What better way to do that than to poach one of United's best players. We were singing Fergie sign him up. I actually got it on the back of one of my shirts. That's how much it meant to City fans to get one over our rivals. It was so rare back in that day that we would get one over United. So any opportunity we had, boy, you'd

better believe that we would milk it and make the most of it. Speaking to the BBC, Sir Alex Ferguson thinks that Tevez had made his mind up to join City a long time before. I think maybe I've done a deal maybe around about January because I spoke to him and gave him an offer on a night where I thinking about setting up into Milan night. He never come back to me. Wondering when he would holiday, never come back to me. Text him twice, never come back.

So obviously he made his mind up a long time ago. Wayne Rooney told me that he wasn't too happy either. When Carlos moved to Man City, I was gutted to be honest and I'm pretty sure Carlos wanted to stay at Manchester United. And then eventually moved to Manchester City, which Manchester City at the time were trying to build and become competitive and at the time were titles. I knew that he'd be a massive part of that because obviously the ability he has and I think we've seen when he went there, he had some great times there as well at Manchester

City. So I was devastated with him. I'd really like him to stay longer and continue to play him. Not content with shocking the footballing world and covering the back of every newspaper on the shelf, Manchester City decided to announce the transfer on a huge billboard in the centre of the city. It was pretty provocative to say the least. The banner, the infamous Welcome to Manchester banner. So it's sat at the top of Deansgate,

which runs through the city centre, and this huge billboard, blue, and then Carlos Tevez is the image in white, with his arms out, stretch, big smile on his face, and then the big words emblazoned, Welcome to Manchester. The banner caused an absolute uproar across the city, with everyone piling in on it.

That banner caused an absolute furor. Sir Alex Ferguson, he came out and he said that city of a small club with a small mentality, he was absolutely stewing, United fans were stewing, but City fans lapped every single minute up of it because that's the pettiness that we can all get behind, right, okay, when we see a banner like that. And I think that was the moment where everything changed

and the balance of power in Manchester shifted. Tevez settled in fast at his new home on the other side of Manchester and after the first five games of the season it was time for his return back to Old Trafford and that Manchester derby. The United faithful, well they were ready for him. On the day outside Old Trafford loads of United fans were out in the street having a few drinks and that turned into obviously football songs being sung, most of them about Carlos Tevez. And then out of nowhere, you just see an Argentina shirt being thrown in the air, ripped apart

and being burnt as well, which was something I haven't seen at Old Trafford before or since. And Adam got all this on video. Sorry for all the bleeps there but you get the point. Once it was time for kick-off, the fans moved into the stadium and made their feelings known. United again on the day unfurled a banner amongst the crowd saying welcome to Manchester with all the trophies that we'd won which was a nice couple of middle fingers up to him and Manchester City but you know it was about getting the result on the day and and we did and it was a huge one. Once the Manchester derby was out the way it was time to concentrate

on Tevez's first season. He had an incredible first season he scored a hat-trick against Blackburn in the January during a 4-1 home win and then by the end of his first season he actually scoot the player of the year award and the players player of the year award so his first season it's safe to say couldn't have gone any better. Heading into season two and the city manager, Roberto Mancini, decided to show Tevez his value to the team by making him club captain, a huge honor. But in true classic Tevez style,

there were rumors of a transfer request, although that didn't amount to much. And were rumors of a transfer request, although that didn't amount to much. And come the end of the season Manchester City had booked their place at Wembley for the FA Cup final. On the day, Yaya Touré scored the winner against Stoke City. Tevez as captain led that City team up the famous steps and held the trophy aloft in the Wembley sunshine. team up the famous steps and held the trophy aloft in the Wembley sunshine. So that was a real seismic moment and I think to be honest with you looking back that was probably the pinnacle moment of Carlos Tevez's career at City, captain

in City to their first trophy win in 35 years. This was the start of a period when silverware would rain down on the blue half of Manchester. Now into his third season at City, Tevez was joined by fellow Argentinian striker Sergio Aguero. Vincent company had also been made club captain too. But again there were constant rumours that Tevez was making noises about his future at the club. Why couldn't he settle? And then in September 2011 things came to a head. But this time not in the press, in the boardrooms or on the billboards. This was on the pitch against Bayern Munich in the Champions League. The subs bench is rarely a happy place in football but this is something else. With

Manchester City losing their manager wanted to bring on Carlos Tevez, but Tevez, he says, refused to play. City were away at Bayern Munich in one of their first Champions League seasons and tensions were high. Joe Hart, goalkeeper for Manchester City and England at the time, was on the pitch. The whole drama surrounding Carlos during that Bayern Munich game I felt was very unfair. I think Carlos did make himself available to come on the pitch, but he was asked to warm up having already warmed up for 20 or 25 minutes. And then he was asked to warm up again to come on.

And I'm pretty sure he said, I am warm. It was the first time we were losing that season and we were getting beaten by a very good Bayern Munich. And it was both very, very hostile characters, which was part of why they were both good at what they did but at that moment it clashed and it didn't work well because Roberto obviously repeated you need to warm up to come on and Carlos being strong-minded as he is says I don't I am warm. This is an unthinkable transgression in modern football. On the pitch, your manager is God.

Tampers were obviously going to flare. We got beat fair and square by a really good team and we were having a good season ourselves. Mancini was very aggressive, very animated. He had a go at Edin for some reason. Zeko didn't really know what was going on but it was like whatever. And then he went wild at Carlos and both in in broken English, didn't really understand each other. And I could see Carlos trying to find out what was being said to him. And when he realized what had been said to him,

he felt really wronged. It was a classic case of two alpha males having a different version of the same event and neither being able to say, look, we both need to calm down here and just sort this out because they were both right to an extent. Mancini was furious.

I can't accept this behaviour from him. I helped him for two years every time and he refused to go in. Do you want him to stay? Sorry? No. Tevez later tried to cool things by releasing a statement saying there was a big misunderstanding and confusion on the bench. But still, a media storm exploded. Sack him. Regardless of whatever he's on or whatever clothes he's got in his contract, just let him go. Let him, you know, let some other club, you know, deal with him. He's not good for football, is he? Everyone wanted to give their two cents. From Harry Redknapp, then Spurs manager.

I felt sorry for Roberto Mancini to be put in that situation. It's not fair. Wasn't right. Wasn't right for Man City. Was not right for football. And BBC Five Live pundit, Robbie Savage. One pound a week or 200,000 pounds a week,

if your manager asks you to go on and do a job for your team and your teammates and your fans and you refuse to, that is a disgrace in my eyes. The media coverage was intense for days and the club took action. Here's Emily. He was suspended, the club began an investigation, they put him on authorised guard and leave and there was a fallout but then obviously he was fined and he did return to Manchester, he resumed training and the players backed him. He apologised and Mancini eventually drew a line under it and said look okay it's time for everybody, all parties concerned to move on and by March in 2012 he was back in the first team.

We loved the aggression that he played with but we'd never really seen an altercation like it, you know, a balance of power between manager and player like that. It was all a little bit too much drama, to be honest with you. It was a bit like you either play for City or you ship out. Once he was back in the team, Tevez continued his success for City. He was part of one of their most memorable ever teams. He renewed his success for City. He was part of one of their most memorable ever teams.

The big moment came when he scored a hat trick when City won 6-1 away during a win at Carroll Road to Norwich. My standout memory of playing with Carlos was when he came back and away at Norwich. He was absolutely devastating. He scored a hat trick in a must-win game at Carrow Road and he was phenomenal. Absolutely took the game by the scruff of the neck. It was a pretty impressive day. The season ended obviously with the QPR game

and Manchester City winning the Premier League title. This was peak Premier League. I'm talking Aguero! Tevez was part of the Manchester City team that won the Premier League for the first time and this I think is why Tevez is remembered so fondly by so many. Despite the transfer requests, refusing to come on, the bust-ups, the carnage off the pitch, things which would ruin most other players' reputations. But Tevez, I feel like it adds to it.

The rest of Tevez's career follows a classic mid 2010s trajectory for an aging great. He stayed at City for one more season, then a hugely successful stay in Italy with Juventus, before then heading back to Argentina with Boca Juniors. He had a brief stay in China where he was reportedly the highest paid player in the world before then reuniting with Boca Juniors once again for his third spell at the club. He went on to a brief stint in management in Argentina. Firstly at Rosario Central, before then taking

the helmet Independiente which he resigned from in 2024. So as the dust settles on Tevez's career in football, where are we left? He might not be spoken about in the same breath as his compatriot and Man City strike partner Sergio Aguero, but this was a player of devastating ability, but also a player prone to shooting himself in the foot. And despite all of that, he is loved by the fans. It's that complexity, I think. It just makes him so interesting and so very memorable. But it's that Argentinian spirit too. The tough gaucho or pibé mentality. That epitome of a country. I think it's safe to say that Marcelo that Argentinian spirit too. The tough gaucho or pibé mentality,

that epitome of a country. I think it's safe to say that Marcella agrees. He's a complicated character. He's a controversial character. He doesn't shy away from conflict. He's adversarial. He speaks his mind. Tevez made his life how he played the game.

And the players he played with don't have a bad word to say about him. Joe Hart caught up with him again at a golf tournament this year, after not having seen him in such a long time. It was crazy, I saw him, the biggest smile on his face, big open hug. I said it really surprised me how you greeted him when we got on because I was excited to see you, but I wasn't sure how you felt because of how you worked and you know and he said that he was just a different person when he played that was how he focused that was how he liked to live his life and I totally respect that but yeah definitely a different version post career. Tevez had the bottle to do things his own way whether it was his attitude to training

Carlos, I bet you thought he wasn't the best trainer. In training he didn't know that I was going to be as fast his laces when he come out and he barely got a sweat on. Or the way he dealt with the higher-ups. Argentina were playing in Dublin and Tevez wasn't part of that squad and he turned up anyway with some mates who were rappers and he just went and confronted the president of the FA with no qualms whatsoever.

You know, it was an incredibly tense situation and then him and his mates just wandered off and got into a golf caddy. But when he was playing at his peak, we all knew about it. Not only with goals and trickery, but with his style pulling at the heartstrings of so many fans in the Premier League. Will we ever see the likes of him again? I mean, I like to hope so. I mean, it was a bit like a hurricane, wasn't it?

Is it his gaucho spirit, or maybe his refusal to be spoken down to and willingness to bite back if attacked? Carlos is certainly up there. He's the greatest South American striker for sure. You know, Carlos, Sergio, they're very similar in terms of match winners, absolute match winners, people that you could rely on and Carlos deserves to be spoken about on his own. A top class player who really kind of helped change the mentality at Manchester City. So why do so many fans still adore him? Why does he instill that despite the controversies?

A lot of top players, there's controversies. So yeah, I think fans of football, you love top players and ability. And that's why I think, I think, you know, some of the goals he scored, the memories he's made, and then that's why I think fans really like to enjoy watching him play. In Carlos Tevez, you have a player that's so widely adored, but so often ignored,

which sort of makes him all the more beautiful for it. It's his goals, his skills, his trickery on the pitch, and his ways of bringing other players into the picture, that makes him for a football purist, the reason why we call football the beautiful game. This is a Message Heard and Copper 90 production, presented by me, Eugene Noble. The producer is Mark Kendrick. The senior producer is Harry Stop.

The production coordinator is Kirsty McLean. And the mix engineer is Lizzie Andrews. For Copper 90, the executive producers are Liam Heath and Ross Whittow-Williams. For the BBC, the commissioning executive is Stevie Middleton and the assistant producer is Matt Taylor. I'm Karl Walker. And I'm Michael Brown. And welcome to the Karl Walker podcast. You can ask us anything about football, our careers or just random everyday stuff. What did you buy with your first ever paycheck as a footballer?

My first car. It was a Y-Ridge. Renault Clio. How much was yours? Thirteen thousand. Thirteen thousand? How things change, Kyle. Right, shall we move on? The Kyle Walker podcast.

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