Carlos Tevez Has Been Offered a Contract – Sir Alex Ferguson
Sir Alex Ferguson has claimed Manchester United want Carlos Tevez, who scored against Wigan, to stay
Sir Alex Ferguson revived Carlos Tevez's prospects of staying at Manchester United last night after the Argentinian proved the catalyst in a comeback that left the Old Trafford club on the brink of the Premier League title.
Tevez equalized three minutes after his introduction against Wigan Athletic as United came from behind to triumph through Michael Carrick's 86th-minute winner at the JJB Stadium. Ferguson, who now requires one point against Arsenal or Hull City to secure a record-equaling 18th league championship, claimed United had made a contract offer to Tevez before kick-off and were making progress on a permanent £22m deal for the striker, despite the 15-goal forward declaring last Sunday his intention to leave.
Ferguson's revelations were immediately denied by the player's representative, Kia Joorabchian, who confirmed talks had taken place with the United chief executive, David Gill, but discounted the offer of a contract.
The United manager, however, said: "The situation has not affected Carlos at all. He is a fantastic little player and he knows I want him to stay. I had another chat with him today about it and David Gill also had some more meetings today and I'm sure it has progressed further. The situation has never changed. The problem is we are not negotiating with a football club. The terms we have offered Carlos are very good, so we'll see."
A spokesman for Joorabchian then issued a statement that read: "It is true David Gill came to see Mr Joorabchian and they had a cordial meeting. It is categorically untrue that Manchester United made an offer to try to persuade Carlos Tevez to stay at the club. In 2007 Manchester United agreed a two-year loan deal for Carlos Tevez and at the same time agreed the terms that would make the transfer permanent. They have not taken up that option."
As for events at the JJB, Ferguson believed United had shown their championship credentials in recovering from Hugo Rodallega's opening goal for Wigan and staging a recovery to keep ahead of Liverpool in the title race. "We had to show the resolve of champions against a very determined Wigan side," he said. "This was a really tough hurdle but we got there with a fantastic second-half performance. We were determined, we never gave in, kept going and got a little bit of luck in the second half, but we were fantastic."
Ferguson added: "We were the better side and I thought we should have had a penalty too but we weren't getting anything from the referee tonight but we've done it ourselves with a fantastic goal by Michael Carrick and a fantastic performance. We will aim to win against Arsenal now. I don't listen to the criticism they've had recently. We know what a good team they are."
Tevez equalized three minutes after his introduction against Wigan Athletic as United came from behind to triumph through Michael Carrick's 86th-minute winner at the JJB Stadium. Ferguson, who now requires one point against Arsenal or Hull City to secure a record-equaling 18th league championship, claimed United had made a contract offer to Tevez before kick-off and were making progress on a permanent £22m deal for the striker, despite the 15-goal forward declaring last Sunday his intention to leave.
Ferguson's revelations were immediately denied by the player's representative, Kia Joorabchian, who confirmed talks had taken place with the United chief executive, David Gill, but discounted the offer of a contract.
The United manager, however, said: "The situation has not affected Carlos at all. He is a fantastic little player and he knows I want him to stay. I had another chat with him today about it and David Gill also had some more meetings today and I'm sure it has progressed further. The situation has never changed. The problem is we are not negotiating with a football club. The terms we have offered Carlos are very good, so we'll see."
A spokesman for Joorabchian then issued a statement that read: "It is true David Gill came to see Mr Joorabchian and they had a cordial meeting. It is categorically untrue that Manchester United made an offer to try to persuade Carlos Tevez to stay at the club. In 2007 Manchester United agreed a two-year loan deal for Carlos Tevez and at the same time agreed the terms that would make the transfer permanent. They have not taken up that option."
As for events at the JJB, Ferguson believed United had shown their championship credentials in recovering from Hugo Rodallega's opening goal for Wigan and staging a recovery to keep ahead of Liverpool in the title race. "We had to show the resolve of champions against a very determined Wigan side," he said. "This was a really tough hurdle but we got there with a fantastic second-half performance. We were determined, we never gave in, kept going and got a little bit of luck in the second half, but we were fantastic."
Ferguson added: "We were the better side and I thought we should have had a penalty too but we weren't getting anything from the referee tonight but we've done it ourselves with a fantastic goal by Michael Carrick and a fantastic performance. We will aim to win against Arsenal now. I don't listen to the criticism they've had recently. We know what a good team they are."
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