The 28-year-old is heading back to the Premier League club
that he has not played for since September after defying Italian Mancini's
instruction to warm up during the Champions League defeat at Bayern Munich.
Speaking for the first time since returning to his homeland
without City's permission in November, Tevez gave his version of what happened
in Germany.
He said Mancini had been arguing with striker Edin Dzeko who
had just been substituted when the manager approached Tevez.
"He saw me on the bench and as he was angry, he sent me
again like a dog to warm up. Because he said it to me in a bad tone I
refused," Tevez said in an interview with Fox Sports broadcast on Monday.
Mancini said at the time Tevez was "finished" at
the league leaders but has since hinted the striker could still play a part in
their pursuit of a first league title since 1968.
Tevez said on Monday he would gladly play for the club again
if Mancini was serious about having him back, and was aware he would have to
pull out all the stops to win over fans who have burned shirts with his name on
in anger at his behavior.
"If I was wrong, I say sorry. I sincerely believe I did
not make a mistake," the former City captain added.
"If it's true (Mancini would welcome me back), of
course I like that, if it's (meant) for the media, no." He has pledged to
give his all to the club he won the FA Cup with last term but will have raised
some eyebrows with criticism of his manager's decision to go public with the
saga.
"There the coach made a mistake," Tevez said.
"The situation in Bayern could have been kept hidden, managed differently.
(Mancini) could have left me out and later said 'Carlos is not well'.
"There are fights but you don't have to air them. We
argued many times in the dressing room and on those occasions he didn't say he
didn't want me (to play again).
"I had a good relationship with him and I believe he's
a winner, he doesn't like to lose, and I'm also like that." Tevez has been
the subject of disciplinary action by the club, over both his refusal to warm
up and his subsequent unauthorized departure to his homeland, but relations
have thawed and Mancini has suggested he could play again.
"Everyone knows Carlos is a top player," the
manager said on Sunday. "If he was here and playing it would be better
because Carlos can change games." With City's early season free-scoring
ways slowing down of late, the return of a fit and hungry Tevez — whose talent,
goals and work rate once made him a fan favorite — could come at just the right
time.
An adviser to Tevez's representative Kia Joorabchian, Paul
McCarthy, told Reuters the striker was returning to England and could be
playing for City in the next two to three weeks.
"He is due back in England on Tuesday and hopefully
will start training this week," McCarthy said.
"He has not just been playing golf in Argentina, he has
done a lot of fitness work too but is probably still two or three weeks away
from being match-fit.
"He needs to be back and he needs to be pulling on the
Manchester City shirt again and doing what he does best, which is scoring goals
and helping the team. He could be vital for City over the last nine or 10 games
of the season." If he were to pull on a sky blue shirt once again, Tevez
said he would have to be "brilliant" to get fans back on side.
"It's my decision to go back and set myself this
challenge: I want to win over the fans again," he said.
"They turned against me after what happened and, for
me, they were badly informed. They were told I didn't want to play, so their
anger is logical.
"It hurt me because I gave this club a lot to finish up
going out by the back door. What I love most is to play football and I'm
returning for a personal reason," added Tevez, who had sought a move away
from the club in the January transfer window.
Apart from a couple of occasions when Manchester United have
topped the table because they have played before City during the weekend,
Mancini's men have led the standings since mid-October and are now two points
clear of the champions.
