I nearly retired after Mancini row, says Tevez

Manchester City striker Carlos Tevez admits he considered retirement after his bust-up with manager Roberto Mancini.

The 28-year-old fell out with Mancini during City’s Champions League group stage match against Bayern Munich last season, when Tevez refused to take his manager’s orders to warm up on the touchline.

The Argentine was vilified and told he wouldn’t play for the club again, leading him to fall out of love with the game and seriously consider retiring from it completely.

“Last year I almost retired,” Tevez told an Argentina radio station.

“I had lost the desire to play, alone in my room, crying. When the bad times come, they all come together. With the Argentina national team we were eliminated from the Copa America at home, after the fight with Roberto I did not want anything more to do with football.

“Luckily today I’m fine, I regained the desire to play.”

Tevez explained how much he dislikes being left out of the team but also said that he is more relaxed than he was before and enjoys a more ‘cordial’ relationship with Mancini now.

“My relationship with Mancini is cordial, I’m hot blooded, I do not like to go out or be on the bench,” he said.

“Before, when he took me out of the team or did not include me on initial line-up, I insulted him … now I’m more relaxed.”

Tevez has scored 10 goals in 28 games for Manchester City this season and says he is physically ready to help the club push on for the second part of the campaign.

“Physically I’m fine. I feel good and fast. Maybe I’m missing goal-hunger, now I think more about accompanying the play or generating a pass-goal,” he said.