Report: Agent says Milan is first choice for Tevez

By DANIELLA MATAR

AP Sports Writer

Associated Press Sports

updated 10:55 a.m. ET Nov. 26, 2011

MILAN (AP) -Carlos Tevez's agent says a move to AC Milan is the Argentina striker's preferred option as he seeks to end a controversial spell at Manchester City, according to an Italian newspaper.

Kia Joorabchian had a two-hour meeting with Milan vice president Adriano Galliani at the club's headquarters on Thursday.

"It was a constructive dialogue which left me feeling happy," Joorabchian was quoted as saying in an interview published Saturday in Gazzetta dello Sport. "Milan is the best solution at the moment, his first choice. Carlos wants to wear the Milan shirt."

City manager Roberto Mancini has said that Tevez's decision to return to Argentina without permission had ended any hope the forward had of playing for the Premier League club again.

Tevez has still not returned to Manchester and recently missed a scheduled meeting with the Premier League leaders to discuss his future.

Mancini refused to answer questions about the matter in his weekly news conference Friday, emphatically stating, "I do not want to speak about Carlos Tevez."

Tevez has not played since apparently refusing an instruction from Mancini to warm up during a Champions League game against Bayern Munich in September.

City fined Tevez four weeks' wages last month but was forced to halve it after England's players' union intervened.

"In reality the problem is only with Mancini, not with the club," Joorabchian added. "Carlos has been clear with the club, the only consequence was a fine.

"However, it's obvious they're interested in resolving the situation."

Massimiliano Allegri's team is not the only option in Italy for Tevez. Juventus is also said to be interested but a meeting with the player's representatives on Friday was reportedly postponed.

Inter Milan had an offer rejected by City in the summer according to Joorabchian. Inter coach Claudio Ranieri is remaining coy on whether the club is planning to renew its efforts in January.

"Are you convinced Inter isn't interested in Tevez?" Ranieri said Saturday. "I've aroused your suspicions now by saying that."

Tevez is under contract with City until 2014. It will reportedly cost ?4 million ($5.3 million) to take the 27-year-old forward on loan and a further ?20 million ($26.5 million) to make the transfer permanent in the summer. A stumbling block could be the wages, with Tevez earning around ?10 million ($13.2 million) a season at City.

"I don't think problems should be talked about with his wages seeing as all big players earn high salaries," Joorabchian said. "However, we didn't talk about the economic aspect with Galliani."

Milan is hunting for a striker, with Antonio Cassano set to miss the rest of the season as he recovers from heart surgery.

Tevez, however, would not be eligible for the Champions League after featuring for City against Napoli at the beginning of the campaign.

Tevez has long been linked with a move to Italy, despite the Argentina striker saying several times he wishes to return to South America to be closer to his family, including his two daughters who live with his wife in Buenos Aires.

The 2009 recruit from Manchester United was City's top scorer during its run to the FA Cup title last year that ended a 35-year trophy drought.

However, the season was not without controversy for the City captain after he handed in a written transfer request in December, saying that his relationship with "certain executives and individuals at the club" was beyond repair.

Tevez later retracted his request but seemed destined to leave the club during the summer.

Despite saying he would not return to Manchester even for a holiday, he failed in his attempts to secure a transfer in the offseason back to Brazilian club Corinthians, which he left in 2006 to join West Ham.

? 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/45428429/ns/sports-soccer/

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