Tevez set to be fined whopping £1million by City

Carlos Tevez is facing a staggering £1million fine by Manchester City for going back to Argentina in November and failing to return to the club.

PeopleSport understands Tevez will accept the punishment and pay the fine before leaving City with a move to AC Milan edging closer to a conclusion in the next week.

The rebel Argentinian has been paid £200,000-a-week by City since flying to Buenos Aires without permission on November 8 last year.

PeopleSport exclusively revealed in November that senior City figures believed Tevez would NEVER return – and those fears were well founded.

The club have not been able to stop his wages because of legal and employment issues, but the 27-year-old star will hand back the equivalent of five weeks wages – £1m – when his deal to AC Milan is completed.

That will take Tevez’s fines to a staggering £1.4m since his infamous dug-out row with City boss Roberto Mancini, after he refused to resume warming up in the Champions League against Bayern Munich in the Allianz Arena on September 27.

Tevez was initially fined four weeks wages of £792,000 after being found guilty of five breaches of contract, following the Munich episode, but that was reduced to £396,000 – two weeks salary – after intervention from PFA chief executive Gordon Taylor.

This time, however, Tevez will accept the massive fine and won’t ask for more backing from the PFA. I understand the player’s union was unhappy with the way Tevez went AWOL back to Argentina just days after Taylor supported him in his disciplinary tribunal with City – although he still remains one of their members.

It is believed Tevez advisor Kia Joorabchian will meet AC Milan chief executive Adriano Galliani this week, with the Italian boss also having talks with acting City power-broker John McBeath and football director Brian Marwood.

Shift

AC had suggested a loan deal until the summer with the option to make the transfer permanent.

City want a straight cash deal for the star or at the very least a firm commitment from the Italians to buy Tevez after a five-month loan arrangement.

Now it’s believed Galliani will shift his position and agree on an obligation to buy in the summer. That means Milan paying City an initial £8m loan fee until the summer followed by £15m to make the deal permanent in July.

Galliani is confident Tevez will join Milan before the end of the winter transfer window.

“We have an agreement with the player, now there’s an ongoing negotiation with City and we expect an answer,” he told Sky Sport Italia.

Mancini is anxious for a deal to go through to bring the Tevez issue to a close – and release funds for another transfer splash before the January window closes.

Roma midfield star Daniele de Rossi is his top target with AC Milan defender Thiago Silva also on his radar. But he would also like another striker when Tevez eventually leaves.