Carlos Tevez Says He Wants to Stay at Manchester City

We all thought Carlos Tevez was going to leave Manchester City this summer, right?

What else could you think after he refused to play in a Champions League match against Bayern Munich?

What else could you think when City manager Roberto Mancini said he would never play for the club again?

What else could you think when Tevez pulled up stakes and went back to Argentina for months in the middle of the Premier League season?

Well, guess what? Apparently, we had it all wrong.

Carlos Tevez—yes, that Carlos Tevez—said he wants to stay at Manchester City.

Tevez told the Manchester Evenings News he's "felt great" since returning to the club. He called Mancini "as good as gold with me."

And then the bomb-shell.

"I'm an ambitious person, I want to work hard and win things with City, " Tevez said. "I've been here since the start of that project...[I want to] stay here as long as it takes to make the project a success."

I know! I was as shocked as you.

Transfer rumors had him going to Juventus or AC Milan or Corinthians. No one had him staying at City.

However, success on the pitch often means relationships mend themselves and such seems to be the case between Tevez, Mancini and the club.

Since returning to the starting lineup on April 11, Tevez has scored four goals and provided two assists in just three games—all wins. His manager is even picking him to score the winner in what could be the decisive game of the season when City face Manchester United later today.

Talking ahead of the derby match, Mancini backed Tevez for the winning goal, saying, "I think Carlos is destined to score the most important goal in the history of this club. This is my belief."

It's a far cry from "he can never play for me again."

The goals are piling up. The wins are rolling in. And player and manager have a chance at the Premier League title.

Everything else is, apparently, water under the bridge.