Manchester City's Carlos Tevez: Who Does He Think He Is, Wayne Rooney?

Supposedly disillusioned with life as a Premier League footballer and intensely homesick, Carlos Tevez has created a transfer saga by publicly declaring his desire to leave Manchester City. 

The Argentine striker, who's scored 10 goals in all competitions this season, has seemingly followed in the footsteps of former teammate and friend Wayne Rooney. 

As has been well documented, Rooney stated his intention to quit Manchester United, insisting he wished to leave the club and telling the media that United's chief executive David Gill "did not give me any of the assurances I was seeking about the future squad."

He then of course signed a new five-year deal with a massive pay raise the next day.

Now Tevez, whose City contract runs until 2014, has played the Rooney role, saying he "wanted to leave [Manchester City] in the summer, but was convinced to return. Sadly, my feelings have not changed."

Not content with telling the media just that, Tevez also used his moment in the spotlight to launch a stinging attack on the management.

"I am disappointed that the management should now see fit to try to portray the situation in another light.

"My relationship with certain executives and individuals at the club has broken down and is now beyond repair. I do not wish to expand on this at this stage. They know, because I have told them."

It appears Carlos Tevez does not see eye-to-eye with the money-men at City, and it's clear why.

On the one hand, you have a footballer who's not content with the job requirements, and is "a bit tired of so much football," with "living for football" having "saturated" him. 

Instead of doing what every other professional player does by fulfilling his contractual agreements, the forward would rather forget about all that simply because he wants to enjoy his family life a bit more.

"I'm very keen to stop [playing football] and get a bit of calm. I've already won a lot," City's £100,000 a week earner and £25.5 million signing said.

On the other hand, you have a football club that has invested millions in a player who now wants to quit just because he can't handle the life that comes with Premier League football. 

There were no complaints at West Ham or in a two-year spell at Manchester United, which saw him win two Premier League titles, a Champions League title, a World Club Cup winners medal and the League Cup title.

And now, despite being given the role of captain, scoring 10 goals this season and being City's first-choice striker (even with four other multi-million pound attackers) in a 4-5-1 formation, he wants to leave because he doesn't like football.

At a crucial time when Manchester City needs all the positive press and team morale they can get, Tevez's decision will not go down well with the rest of the players, especially the likes of Emmanuel Adebayor, Jo and Roque Santa Cruz. These are players who would kill for a place in the line-up like Tevez has, players who haven't moaned to the media nearly as much as the Argentine player has despite getting nothing of the playing time they deserve.

Tevez's two daughters may be a million miles away from him back home in Argentina, but City will say the diminutive forward should've taken that into better consideration when he made his decision to stay with the club back in the summer.

Then again, this could all be a Wayne Rooney-esque ploy to get more money, with Tevez's agent Kia Joorabchian poised to have pound signs for eyes.

After all, if Yaya Toure, of all people, can be earning £220,000 a week at the club, then anything is possible, right?

Although, should this actually be the end of the City-Tevez affair and no imminent pay raise comes forth, the Argentine really will be in the docks. 

Chelsea or Real Madrid might take him on, with both clubs in need of a decent striker and a few more goals (the Blues especially).

If that fails, it'll be back to Argentina, Boca Juniors and home for the little guy from Fuerte Apache, and with that a massive deduction in his wages and ego.

If his entourage of money-men have anything to say about that, however, Tevez can forget a romantic return home, likely leaving himself with a struggle to find a decent club and employers who will give him more than he's currently earning.

So, will it be a multi-dollar, dazzling and dramatic Wayne Rooney-esque U-turn for Tevez, or will it be a spectacularly backfiring stunt that lands the Argentine a place in the stands for the next few weeks until the struggle to find anyone else who will meet his financially-crippling wage demands and transfer fee?

For Carlos Tevez's sake, his money-men hope this poker game will pay off and it'll be the former.