Gary Neville reveals what he ‘couldn’t stand’ about Carlos Tevez

Former Manchester United captain Gary Neville has explained why he “couldn’t stand” the way Carlos Tevez went about leaving Old Trafford back in 2009.

The Argentine striker spent two years with the Red Devils, winning two Premier League titles and a Champions League, and was part of a fearsome forward trio alongside Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo.

But despite a successful spell with the club, Tevez decided not to make his loan move to United permanent ahead of the 2009/10 campaign in order to sign for their rivals Manchester City, who were at the start of their journey under owner Sheikh Mansour at the time.

And almost 11 years on from the deal taking place, Neville has now revealed what annoyed him most about Tevez’s decision to move to United’s ‘noisy neighbours’, insisting that the forward’s attitude towards the end of his time in a red shirt was worse than actually moving to the Etihad.

In an interview with Sky Sports, cited on Football365, Neville said: “What annoyed me about Tevez was he downed tools in his second season, that and sitting on the treatment bench, starting coming out late for training, started messing around, he was playing the club.

 “I couldn’t stand that. Particularly as I was at the time, which was a ferocious Manchester United person inside, never thought about anything else in my life, only United every single day.

“And the idea that someone would come into that changing room and not be at their best. I understood that he had circumstances but his people were in his ear all of the time, he was so led by his people.

“It was always going to come to an end like it did. I felt disappointed as a professional that he didn’t act the right way. I didn’t have a problem with players leaving the club like David Beckham left the club, Cristiano Ronaldo left the club, Ruud van Nistelrooy left the club, great, great players.

 

 

“But there was a way to leave the club and there was a way to behave when you were there. So the problem I had with Tevez wasn’t that he went to play for Manchester City – which in itself is a problem for me – that wasn’t the main issue, it was the way in which it played out in the last few months. I didn’t like it.”

Tevez went on to play 148 games for City, scoring 73 goals, and played a key part in their first Premier League success in 2012.

He left the Citizens in the summer of 2013 after his relationship with the club, and in particular Roberto Mancini, had turned sour during the 2012/13 season.

READ MORE: Paul Pogba’s transfer options seem to be narrowing after two clubs reportedly interested in the midfielder ‘stepped aside’ in the race for his signature.