Tevez targeting Manchester City exit

The 27-year-old dropped the bombshell while speaking to an Argentinean radio station and comes less than a week after the City skipper reportedly told manager Roberto Mancini that he wanted to stay.

And Tevez even suggested that he could walk away from football altogether before the start of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, if he fails to secure a return to his homeland.

"I want to leave Manchester City,” Tevez told Radio del Plata. “Football has changed a lot for me and I don't know if I will even make it to the next World Cup.

"And that has nothing to do with whether I'm selected or not. I've been treated very well here and I'm grateful.

"I also gave everything for the club to receive the results it has had, but I need a change of scene."

Despite City claiming a spot in next season’s Champions League and lifting the FA Cup, Tevez’s comments are sure to spark a huge transfer scramble over the summer.

A host of top clubs in Italy and Spain were in the race for the nomadic forward before Tevez cooled talk of an imminent move last week.

But the former Manchester United striker longs to be closer to his wife and children in Buenos Aires, making a return to Boca Juniors his preferred destination, although the Argentine giants would not be able to match his huge £200,000-a-week salary.

He added: "To go back to Boca Juniors would be beautiful, but it is very difficult.

"I spoke to their midfielder [Juan] Roman Riquelme and, messing around, we agreed I would go back one day. But if we're speaking seriously, financial issues would make my return difficult."

By James Martini

Nick Moore

Nick Moore is a freelance journalist based on the Isle of Skye, Scotland. He wrote his first FourFourTwo feature in 2001 about Gerard Houllier's cup-treble-winning Liverpool side, and has continued to ink his witty words for the mag ever since. Nick has produced FFT's 'Ask A Silly Question' interview for 16 years, once getting Peter Crouch to confess that he dreams about being a dwarf.