Manchester City rebuff West Ham loan offer for Tevez

By John Sinnott BBC Sport

Manchester City have rejected West Ham's offer to take striker Carlos Tevez back to Upton Park on loan.

Football League rules would have allowed him to sign for a Championship club on loan, even though the transfer window has closed.

City manager Roberto Mancini said the 27-year-old refused to come on against Bayern Munich on Tuesday and will not feature for the Manchester club again .

And City have moved quickly to dampen West Ham's interest in the Argentine.

Tevez, who has been suspended for two weeks by the club pending an investigation into the incident, insists he has nothing to apologise for and believes his team-mates will back his version of events.

Late on Thursday, a senior official at another of the Argentine's former clubs, Corinthians, told BBC Sport that the Brazilian side were "at the moment not thinking about" a loan move for the player.

TEVEZ IN ENGLAND

  • Jul 2009 - present Man City: 91 appearances, 53 goals
  • Aug 2007 - Jul 2009 Man Utd: 97 appearances, 34 goals
  • Aug 2006 - Aug 2007 West Ham: 29 appearances, 7 goals

In July, Tevez came close to joining Corinthians before they pulled out of the move.

City thought a £40m deal had been agreed after the striker told the Premier League outfit he wanted to return to South America , but he remained at Etihad Stadium.

Tevez became a fans' favourite in his previous spell at Upton Park as he helped save the Hammers from relegation in 2006-07 before leaving for Manchester United.

But his stay was also marked by controversy.

In April 2007, West Ham were found guilty by a Premier League tribunal of acting improperly and withholding vital documentation over the ownership of Tevez and compatriot Javier Mascherano when they signed the duo in 2006.

Earlier on Friday, West Ham completed a deal for Arsenal goalkeeper Manuel Almunia on a one-month emergency loan after Robert Green was ruled out for around six weeks.