City denies report that PSG will sign Tevez

LONDON - Manchester City on Tuesday denied receiving a bid from French league leader Paris Saint Germain for Carlos Tevez, saying no deal had been agreed between the clubs.

PSG sources in Paris told AFP earlier that the Argentinian international could be headed to France after an agreement for a 3 1/2 year contract had been reached.

However, a City spokesman said the report was without foundation.

"It's just not true," the City spokesman said. "Manchester City have not received a bid for Carlos Tevez from Paris Saint Germain."

Tevez's move to Italian champion AC Milan fell through last week because of the refusal of its Brazilian striker Alexandre Pato to move to PSG in a reported 28 million euro ($35.8 million) deal.

PSG's Brazilian sporting director, Leonardo, has always been an admirer of the former Lazio, Manchester United and Boca Juniors star and renewed contact with him following his falling out with City manager Roberto Mancini.

However, the arrival of two-time Champions League winning coach Carlo Ancelotti at the end of December tilted the balance, and the Italian has been vociferous in recent days in calling for an experienced world-class striker to be signed by the club.

Tevez has enjoyed success at virtually every club he has played for, albeit never overstaying his welcome.

He landed the Copa Libertadores and the Intercontinental Cup - which is now the World Club Cup - with Argentinian side Boca Juniors in 2003 and earned himself the nickname from the fans of "the people's player".

He moved onto Brazilian outfit Corinthians and inspired them to the Brazilian championship before transferring to West Ham, which he helped stay up in the Premier League on the last day of that season, scoring against Manchester United.

He moved to United from West Ham and collected the 2008 Champions League - a penalty shootout win over Chelsea - before a controversial move to United's city rival, where he was at first an inspirational influence.

Awarded the captaincy, he went on to score 21 goals last season but his increasingly tense relations with Mancini came to the boil when, according to the Italian, he refused to go on as a substitute during the Champions League group stage defeat by Bayern Munich last September.

City found Tevez guilty of five breaches of contract for refusing to warm up in that match.

Tevez was then suspended for two weeks and had a four-week fine halved after the intervention of the PFA (Professional Footballers Association)

Agence France-Presse