Carlos Tevez is back at Manchester City after flying in from Argentina today following a 3 month absence without leave.
The want-away striker was given a police escort from Manchester Airport and reported to City’s Carrington training complex this afternoon for a checkup ahead of a return to training on Wednesday.
On Monday, he had a controversial interview on “Fox Sports” where he discussed the incident that sparked off the his troubles with City manager Roberto Mancini at a Champions League game against Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena in September.
The striker alleged that Mancini had treated him “like a dog” during the match in which the Italian accused Tevez of refusing to warm up as tempers frayed while Bayern controlled the game which City went on to lose.
Moves to Inter Milan, AC Milan, and Paris Saint Germain fell by the wayside as City stuck to their price tag of £25m during the winter transfer window which subsequently closed.
Tevez flew out of England without permission on November 7th and has not been paid his salary ever since leaving the country despite lodging appeals with the club and the Premier League.
With both parties at an impasse, Tevez has decided that the best course of action was to end his self-imposed exile and return to the club in the hope of getting match fit and playing some games before the summer transfer window opens at the end of the season.
City have endured a tough winter without players who had gone to the African Cup of Nations, sustained injuries, and suspensions but have emerged holding on to a slender lead at the top of the Barclays Premier League just ahead of their rivals Manchester United who traditionally finish strongly in the second half of the season.
Roberto Mancini has recently gone on record offering another olive branch to Tevez, suggesting that he could return to the first team squad and play a part in the title run-in despite the polarisation of opinion amongst City fans and veterans alike.
His goals and energy might reignite City at a time when their points chase was in danger of stalling due to a relative lack of goals from City’s forwards since the turn of the year but his mere presence may disrupt the balance of a side going for the title…