Emotional Tevez casts doubt over future at Man United
LONDON (Reuters) - Carlos Tevez collected his second Premier League winners'' medal for Manchester United on Saturday but appeared to be waving goodbye to the Old Trafford faithful when he was substituted during the 0-0 draw with Arsenal.
The Argentine striker, who last week was quoted as saying he wanted to leave the club because of not starting enough big matches, saluted all sides of the ground and was given a standing ovation by the crowd.
Boos rang out when manager Alex Ferguson decided to take off the striker, who had scored a superb equaliser in the midweek win over Wigan Athletic, after 66 minutes of the draw that sealed the title.
Asked afterwards if he was waving goodbye, an emotional Tevez told Sky Sports: "Maybe goodbye, maybe.
"I like the fans so much. Thank you. It was very difficult for me," he added, when asked if he was crying when he sat on the bench. Asked again if he wanted to stay at the club, he replied: "Very difficult."
Tevez''s two-year loan deal expires at the end of the season with United reported to be unwilling to pay the permanent transfer fee. This week his agent Kia Joorabchian, who heads a group of investors who control Tevez''s economic rights, said there was no deal on the table for the player from United.
Ferguson said he had taken off Tevez because he was tired after playing as a lone striker.
"The boy knows we want him to stay," Ferguson told Sky Sports. "We just needed a bit of freshness up front, there was nothing in it to be honest with you."
Joorabchian said this week that Tevez wants to stay in the Premier League.
"If it''s not Manchester United it has to be a club that has big ambition," the Iranian-born entrepreneur told radio station Talk Sport.
"I suspect that somewhere between the 28th May and 1st July we will have analysed all the offers, whether it be Manchester United or another, and we will have made a decision."