Corinthians to give Tevez his South American dream

Corinthians have made the first move in the chase for Carlos Tevez by offering £35m for the unsettled Manchester City striker.

Tevez recently handed in a transfer request at Eastlands, stating that he wanted to move away from the Premier League to be closer to his family, in particular his two daughters, back in Argentina after they failed to settle in Manchester.

It was expected that a move to Spain would be most likely for Tevez, where his family would perhaps be willing to join him, with Real Madrid, Barcelona and Malaga seemingly best suited to meet his £50m asking price and current wage demands of £200,000 a week.

However, it is Tevez’ former club Corinthians that may be in the best position to tempt the Argentine striker.

Although the Brazilian league will not be of the standard that Tevez has become used to in Europe, he may be willing to make this sacrifice to return to Argentina.

The £35m offer falls well short of Manchester City’s valuation, but they may be also prepared to make this sacrifice if it means Tevez avoids joining a club that will be among their leading rivals in the Champions League.

Tevez previously played for Corinthians between 2004 and 2006 and his agent Kia Joorabchian has stated that the 27-year-old wants to return to the Brazilian club.

Joorabchian said: “Negotiations have already begun; Corinthians are in contact with us. Tevez’ dream and mine is to see him back with Corinthians. He said he has a job that does not end there. He wants to return because he has the dream of winning the Copa Libertadores.

“Corinthians have made an offer now it depends only on Man City. It is impossible to determine the situation, but it is close.”

Losing Tevez will be a big blow for Manchester City as they look to defy Premier League odds of 7/2 to be crowned champions this season, particularly as he scored 20 goals last season.