“Everything depends on Carlos,” Mancini said. “If he apologises to the squad and to me then everything will be as before. If he doesn’t then Tevez has a value that everyone knows and something will happen in January.
“He is totally unprepared and being badly advised. I don’t want it to be like this and I would be the first to forgive him.”
The pair had a falling out last month during City’s UEFA Champions League defeat at Bayern Munich. During a tense second half that saw the English Premier League leaders trailing 2-0, Mancini ordered Tevez to warm up (after the player had already warmed up but not put in the game). Tevez allegedly refused and Mancini reacted furiously.
The club investigated and held disciplinary hearings on the incident and charged Tevez with misconduct. He was reportedly fined £800,000 ($1.3 million) and suspended for two weeks.
His vow to freeze the player out of the team prompted rampant speculation that Tevez would leave the club in January. The club’s valuation combined with his high salary mean that there are only a handful of clubs that the player could realistically join.
Mancini backed himself into a corner last month by publicly stating he would never again select Tevez. The club is involved in four competitions and has three other top-level strikers from which he can choose. Injury or loss of form to any of them would force Mancini to select Tevez, so this move allows him to save face and retain the services of arguably his best striker.
Time will tell if Tevez accepts the olive branch of peace.
