Carlos Tevez: 5 Possible Destinations for Manchester City Outcast

Today, in Manchester City's loss against Bayern Munich, many things went wrong for Roberto Mancini. His team lost, several of his players under-performed and Edin Dzeko in particular showed open disrespect for his coach upon being substituted.

However, the one incident that Mancini will remember most of all from Manchester City's match is Carlos Tevez's refusal to come on as a substitute. With 30 minutes left to go in the game, Mancini called on Carlos Tevez to enter the game and the Argentinian striker refused.

According to ESPN, Roberto Mancini's patience with Carlos Tevez has officially run out. The Italian stated after the game, "He is finished for me. If I have my way he will be out of the club.''

Though we are a long way from January, it appears that Carlos Tevez will certainly follow in the footsteps of Emmanuel Adebayor and Craig Bellamy as a striker who fell out of favor with Roberto Mancini and was shown the door at Manchester City. Unlike Adebayor and Bellamy though, it's hard to feel any pity for Tevez.

In any case, here are the top five potential destinations of Carlos Tevez come January.

Inter Milan

Likelihood: 40 percent

Recently, the good fellows at Crunchsports have published a report linking Inter Milan once again with Carlos Tevez, claiming that Claudio Ranieri is very interested in acquiring the Argentine by offloading one of his own Argentines, Diego Milito, in the winter.

After Inter Milan's multiple attempts to acquire Carlos Tevez this summer, I see no reason not to put some faith in this rumor. 

There are, however, a number of logistical barriers that could prevent a deal from materializing. 

First of all, Carlos Tevez still earns astronomical wages and this summer had an enormous price tag attached to him. One of these figures will likely have to take a big cut if Inter Milan are too afford the diminutive Argentine.

Second of all, Inter Milan brought in Mauro Zarate and Diego Forlan this summer to compensate for the loss of Samuel Eto'o. Arguably, the striker position is no longer their greatest concern and may actually be Inter's strongest position at the moment.

Switching Diego Milito out for Carlos Tevez may work fine for the team, but considering Inter's weak financial situation, Ranieri and Moratti may decide to focus their resources on the team's weak spots rather than strengthening a spot already fairly strong within the team.

Juventus

Likelihood: 20 percent

According to The First Post, Antonio Conte may be interested in acquiring Carlos Tevez this summer if Juventus' strikers continue to struggle in front of goal.

Personally, I can't say I have much faith in this rumor at all. It is based off a quote from Conte in which he says that Juventus wanted Carlos Tevez this summer, but doesn't really have any extra evidence to indicate that Juventus might be interested in the Argentine in the winter.

Of course, with a lowered price tag, anything is possible, but after all the spending Juventus did this summer, the chances of a transfer to Juventus are unlikely.

In addition, Juventus are currently overloaded with strikers. With Mirko Vucinic, Alessandro Del Piero, Alessandro Matri and Fabio Quagliarella fighting for starts, and Vincenzo Iaquinto and Amauri taking up space on the Juventus bench, it's hard to see how bringing another striker makes any sense, even if he could potentially offer great quality up front for Juve.

Middle East

Likelihood: N/A

I have no rumors to report of such a move happening, so I won't try to predict the likelihood of it happening, but it would make sense.

The Middle East has become a welcome home for talented stars who either cannot cut it in Europe, are disciplinarily unfit to play in Europe or want to make more money than they would in Europe.

Carlos Tevez would fit right in.

Nicholas Anelka, Mauro Zarate and Juninho Pernambucano are three players who come to mind who have had successful stints in the Middle East, and currently, there are a handful of stars plying their trade in the Middle East.

Asamoah Gyan is the biggest name that comes to mind, but there is also Ze Roberto, Marcelo Bordon, Afonso Alves, Mamadou Niang, Kader Keita, Nadir Belhadj, Madjid Bougherra, Aruna Dindane, Bakari Kone, Mario Melchiot, Grafite, Coelho Jaja, Luis Jimenez, Lucas Neill, Ricardo Oliveira, Ismael Bangoura and so many more.

Though the Qatar and UAE leagues are arguably not growing in a financially sound manner, both leagues are loaded with stars and getting packed with more and more big-name players each and every year.

If Carlos Tevez were to choose to play in one of these leagues, he would be welcomed as a king, paid handsomely and allowed the opportunity to get away from all the negative press in Europe and even Argentina (for his poor international performances).

Corinthians

Likelihood: 60 percent

Once again, we have our boys at Crunchsports to thank for this rumor. The link actually goes to a rumor about Marek Hamsik being targeted by Manchester City, but in the article it is mentioned that Corinthians are "thought to be ready to renew their interest in the Argentina international."

Of all the possible moves for Carlos Tevez, this is the one most likely to satisfy all parties involved.

Corinthians already were willing to spend £40 million to bring the Argentine striker back home this summer, and should be much more willing to fork over the cash if the striker's price tag is lowered, which it surely will now that he is completely useless to Manchester City and Roberto Mancini.

Additionally, moving to Corinthians will grant Carlos Tevez his much wanted move back to South America and allow him to live with his family in the type of environment he's been wanting for seasons now.

Finally, bringing in Carlos Tevez would raise Corinthians' profile dramatically and make the team much stronger. The Brazilian team already have Liedson and Adriano up front, but the team would surely benefit from having the star striker around.

A win-win-win situation for all involved.

Boca Juniors

Likelihood: 10 percent

Earlier this September, in an interview with South American news agency Telam, Carlos Tevez made clear his desire to return to the team of his youth one day.

"I have had, and always have, Boca Juniors in my heart," he stated. "I have played for Boca before and I will not rule out returning to them in the future to play at The Bombonera and [then] saying goodbye to professional football."

Carlos Tevez may have intended to follow through with his move to his childhood club at least a couple of years later in his career, but given the circumstances, he may choose to head home sooner rather than later.

Moving back to Argentina would save his family from a move and the adjustment to a new culture. Additionally, Carlos Tevez would boost the Boca Juniors talent level tremendously, and would have the opportunity to link up with Juan Roman Riquelme, formerly one of the greatest playmakers in the world.

Of course, given Boca Juniors financial constraints, Carlos Tevez would have to have his current salary cut by more than 50 percent, and must barely cost a thing in terms of transfer fee for Boca Juniors. 

Manchester City may be willing to lower their price tag on Tevez, but it's highly unlikely they'll bring it down low enough for Boca Juniors' level. If all else fails, and no one else wants Tevez, he could end up at Boca, but otherwise, wages and transfer fee are major barriers to the move taking place.

Where Will Tevez Be Playing Come January?

At the moment, the rumors of an Inter Milan move seem to be the strongest on the web, and the move certainly seems favorable.

If a move to Inter Milan does not materialize though, I would not be surprised to see the striker move to Corinthians, which as I said would likely please all parties involved.

If neither of these moves take place, then it's hard to say where Tevez might end up. Moves to the Middle East, Juventus and Boca Juniors are of course all possible, but all possess barriers which make them highly unlikely moves.

What we know for sure is that, come January, it's highly, highly unlikely that Carlos Tevez will still be at Manchester City, and I'm willing to bet that, in the end, he moves to one of these five destinations.

What do you think? Which one of these destinations seems most likely? Which one is the least likely? Are there any clubs that you think Carlos Tevez could move to that I haven't mentioned?

If so, please share, but do try to provide more evidence and analysis than simply "I think Carlos Tevez would be a great striker for X club, because he can score goals." That kind of rationale can be used to justify linking him with any club. Here, we are hoping to actually identify the clubs likely to be in the race for him come January, not the clubs that would benefit from his presence and talents.

Thanks for reading, and I look forward to reading your comments below!