IT ALL LOOKED sewn up this morning: Roberto Mancini had claimed that Carlos Tevez was free to talk personal terms with Corinthians, Patrick Vieira was looking to life after the wee Argentinian and Manchester City’s players felt comfortable confident enough in the sale of their captain to come over all passive-aggressive on Sky Sports News.
Everyone was happy. Except Corninthians.
The Brazilian club has just released a statement in which they accuse Manchester City of needlessly complicating the transfer process, effectively preventing any certain agreement from being reached:
“Following news reports claiming an arrangement had been reached between Corinthians and striker Carlos Tevez, the president Andrés Sánchez is keen to come forward to clarify that Manchester City have not accepted the proposal by Corinthians,” a statement on the club’s official website read.
“In fact, the club sent a counter-proposal to Corinthians this morning that, due to the time difference, did not reach the attention of the board until now. In the counter-proposal, the Premier League club sought to change the structure of payment and the total value of the transaction. In addition, Manchester City also insist that Tevez gives up a pending amount with the English club.
“Finally, the president Andrés Sánchez advises that there is nothing concrete at the current moment with Tevez and that City’s counter-proposal will be reviewed by him and his board.”
Quite who is responsible for chucking the toys out of the pram on this occasion is open to debate, but for once, City’s Argentinian striker and noted fan of wage increases appears to be in the clear.
