Dispute with City costs Tevez $14M; Milan chided

Carlos Tevez

LONDON - Manchester City’s chairman has criticized AC Milan over its pursuit of Carlos Tevez, whose ongoing insubordination has now cost the striker 9 million pounds ($14 million) in fines or lost earnings from the club.

Milan, crosstown rival Inter Milan and Paris Saint-Germain have been in transfer talks over Tevez, but City Chairman Khaldoon al-Mubarak said Tuesday that he is dissatisfied with the lack of “appropriate’’ offers.

Al-Mubarak said in a strongly worded statement that Milan has “developed a misplaced sense of confidence’’ in the negotiations, and indicated that City is willing to keep Tevez for the remaining 2 1/2 years of his contract.

That came as one official said City has fined Tevez 1.2 million pounds for the latest episode of misconduct - traveling without permission in November to Argentina, where he is now. He has also missed out on 1.7 million pounds in wages over the last two months, the official said. He spoke on condition of anonymity because the fines are not being publicly discussed.

The person said that by handing in a transfer request last season, Tevez also forfeited a 6 million pound loyalty bonus that would have been due to him under the terms of his contract.

The striker was also given a hefty fine for refusing to warm up during a Champions League game at Bayern Munich this season, which led to a massive falling out with manager Roberto Mancini.

Tevez’s relations with City broke down during last season after the striker said he wanted to leave England to be closer to his family, which moved back to Argentina after failing to settle in Manchester. However, the club refused the then-captain’s transfer request, and Tevez went on to help City end a 35-year trophy drought with a victory in the FA Cup final.

But he then enraged Mancini with his act of insubordination in Munich in September and has not played for the team since. City is now trying to offload the Argentine forward - but insists it won’t do so on the cheap

“Carlos remains a player with contractual obligations to Manchester City for the next two and a half seasons,’’ al-Mubarak said in a rare public statement. “Unless we receive an offer that we deem appropriate, the terms of his contract will be enforced.

“Inter Milan and Paris Saint-Germain approached discussions with us in good faith and it is always a positive experience to deal with people with a professional approach.’’

But talks with AC Milan, which had been the leading contender to sign Tevez, have been fraught.

“As things stand AC Milan isn’t an option for Carlos Tevez,’’ al-Mubarak said. AP