Carlos Tevez: Mercenary or Misunderstood Messiah?

Carlos Tevez was due a move. Having spent roughly two years at Corinthians, one at West Ham and two at Manchester United, he had already passed his sell-by date at Manchester City.

Here's a player who wants you to believe he'd die for your club. Born to run, with a voracious appetite for battle and an eye for goal, Tevez is the archetypal cult hero for the terraces. But no sooner have you fallen in love with him, than he leaves under a cloud.

His time at Corinthians ended in bitter dispute. Here was an Argentine making waves in Brazil for all the right reasons, but his star turn ended in the playing strike which ultimately forced through a complicated move to West Ham.

Tevez and Javier Mascherano arrived at Upton Park in a what must have seemed like a fantastical dream  sequence to Hammers fans. Twelve months later they'd saved the club from relegation, with Tevez scoring the winner against Manchester United on the final day to keep them up.

Controversy followed. Sheffield United were relegated, at a cost of millions, and successfully sued West Ham for fielding two players who were still partly owned by somebody else (Kia Joorabchian's Media Sports Investment).

With his market value soaring, Tevez and Joorabchian were now looking to cash in. Inter Milan tried and failed to get him, before Manchester United eventually negotiated a two-year loan deal (with MSI). West Ham tried to block it, but ultimately reached an agreement to end his contract.

The next two seasons saw Tevez win two Premier League titles and a Champions League, but no amount of success could seemingly persuade him to extend his stay at United. The club offered him a deal, but Tevez was reportedly frustrated after being left on the bench for the 2009 Champions League final loss to Barcelona and turned it down.

Having endeared himself to United fans, Tevez then committed the ultimate betrayal. He joined Manchester City in a five-year deal worth an estimated £47 million. As if that wasn't hard enough to stomach, City then unveiled their famous "Welcome to Manchester" billboard, featuring Tevez in blue.

Tevez's time at Eastlands followed a similar pattern. Having spent two seasons winning over the fans with his tireless work ethic and heart-on-the-sleeve passion, things started to go wrong. His relationship with Roberto Mancini suffered as he found himself competing for a starting spot and this summer Tevez announced he wanted to leave.

But this time no deal could be made. Perhaps the complicated nature of his contractual status put suitors off. Perhaps the volatile nature of Tevez himself was responsible. Whatever the reason, Tevez would be staying at City until January, or so we thought.

Then came events last night in Munich. Tevez was left on the bench for City's high-profile Champions League trip to face Bayern, and when called upon for the last 30 minutes reportedly refused to go on.

Mancini reacted by saying Tevez was "finished" at City, and despite Tevez subsequently denying the widely reported chain of events, it seems his future at City is now untenable. Mancini can ill afford to be undermined and anything less than a fully committed Tevez cannot be tolerated.

The player will naturally state his innocence. He'll claim he's given his soul to Manchester City and never wanted anything but to stay at the club and help them win trophies.

He'll play the victim, but it's getting harder and harder to believe him. After all, we know already know he wants to leave, and there's no better player in the business at forcing through his own exit.

Wherever he goes next fans should be warned.Those who treat their love affair with Carlos Tevez as a marriage will end up broken-hearted. The Argentine is a mercenary and the best you can hope for is a heady two-year affair that ends in acrimony.