Tevez: Mancini treated me like a dog - TODAYonline

MANCHESTER - Carlos Tevez has jeopardised his prospects of salvaging his Manchester City career by accusing Roberto Mancini of treating him "like a dog".

Tevez is set to return to City today for the first time since flying to Buenos Aires without the club's permission on Nov 7.

The Argentine forward's unauthorised absence has resulted in a fine of six weeks' wages, amounting to almost £1.2 million (S$2.4 million), for gross misconduct - a punishment he is expected to accept by dropping a planned appeal to the Premier League.

But with City and Tevez's advisers each stressing their readiness in recent days to end the four-month stand-off by restoring the player to the first-team squad at the Etihad Stadium, the 27-year-old's explosive interview on Fox Sports in Argentina has now risked wrecking any hope of a reconciliation.

Referring to the night in the Allianz Arena last September, when he refused to continue warming up as a substitute against Bayern Munich, Tevez said: "I was kind of in a bad mood and when he (Mancini) brings on (Nigel) de Jong and takes off (Edin) Dzeko - and we're losing 2-0 - I thought it was a defensive substitution, so I decided to sit back on the bench.

"I had already warmed up for 10 minutes and he has this attitude that he wants to lose 2-0 instead of 4-0.

"So I sat down and at the same time Dzeko comes off. He is really angry and has a go at Mancini. He then sees the tunnel is closed so he has to sit down next to him and they start to have an argument.

"I go and sit down and he (Mancini) doesn't see me because he's having this discussion. But then he turns around and sees me and you can imagine what happens.

"He's in the middle of an argument, so then he tells me to keep on warming up and treats me like a dog.

"When he spoke to me in that tone of voice, I said 'No, I'm not going out'.

"I was willing to play, but the coach was in such a foul mood because he had that argument with Dzeko. Mancini said some horrible things to me."

Tevez, whose loss of earnings at City since last summer amount to £9.3 million due to fines and the forfeit of loyalty bonuses, was speaking publicly for the first time since returning to Argentina during a 48-minute televised interview.

The comments made by Tevez prompted City to contact the player's representatives last night to question the sentiments expressed by the former Manchester United forward, but the Tevez camp stressed that the extracts broadcast on Sky Sports News were cherry-picked from a more wide-ranging broadcast.

There appeared little appetite for reconciliation on Tevez's part, however, when he was asked if he was prepared to grant Mancini the apology demanded by the Italian.

"If I was wrong, I say sorry." Tevez said. "But I sincerely believe I did not make a mistake.

"If it's true (Mancini would welcome me back), of course I like that. But if it's just being said for the media, no.

"I'll do my best to be available and play, but Mancini's position got stronger when Kun Aguero arrived (in July).

"I don't know if he (Mancini) would have done the things he did if this was last season. Last season we almost exchanged punches, but he never said anything.

"If we had a problem, we could have sorted it out in a different way. Last season, after a home game against Newcastle, we almost hit each other in the dressing room. But we spoke the following day.

"Mancini is a winner and I'm a winner too. None of us likes to lose. That Bayern episode could have been avoided. They could have kicked me out of the club without saying all the things they said."

With Tevez having not played since last 'September, City are set to put the player on an individual training regime when he returns before incorporating him back into the first-team squad.

Tevez, however, said he is determined to play a part in City's title challenge.

He said: "I want to go back to Manchester and win the City fans back. People turned their back on me but it's normal.

"I'm prepared to go back and put on the City shirt. I'm going to train, to give my all and be available. I can imagine myself going on to the field and I'm going to have to be brilliant (to win over the critics). It's not going to be easy for me nor the fans.

"I feel like I'm out of the squad. I wish I can go back there and help them win."

In a further dig at Mancini, however, Tevez claimed that Sir Alex Ferguson at United was one of the two best managers he has worked with.

"I know (Sir Alex) Ferguson really doesn't want to lose this title race." Tevez said. "Ferguson didn't have the best relationship with me, but together with Marcelo Bielsa those two are the best managers I had." THE DAILY TELEGRAPH