Former Man Utd and City Star Facing Prospect of Being Released by Shanghai Shenhua After Poor Spell
Carlos Tevez may see his time in the Chinese Super League come to an abrupt end in the near future as Shangai Shenhua consider whether to cut ties with the former Manchester City and United man.
The news comes following a disappointing debut season for Tevez, who failed to reach the level heights that were expected of him upon arrival.
The Straits Times revealed that there had been rumours circulating that he would return to play in his native land of Argentina, after scoring an underwhelming four goals in 16 games during the season.
Shanghai manager Mao Yijun spoke out about the disappointing start from Tevez, explaining that the 33-year-old hadn't met the expectations the club had for him when he signed a two-year deal from Boca Juniors in January.
When speaking on the performance's of Tevez, Yijun stated: “It’s a pretty sensitive issue, we can’t really answer that question at the moment. It’s safe to say that Tevez’s performances didn’t really reach our expectations. It’s fair to say that.
“He has had some injuries with his calf and he didn’t have a [pre-season] preparation period with us.”
A lot of the former City man's poor performances during the campaign were arguably caused by his lingering injury problems, which saw him return to Buenos Aires for 10 days of treatment in August.
Yijun added: “However, in training and in the matches, he did try his best and his attitude was very professional. But he didn’t reach his top athletic performance because of his condition.
“We are still discussing his future with the club.”
Tevez signed for the side on a £615,000 a week contract back in January - with their Asian Champions League campaign in mind. Shanghai were eliminated from the Champions League, in his first competitive game for the side and finished a disappointing 11th on the league table, after finishing fourth the year before.
The one success that Shanghai endured during the season was their Chinese FA Cup win, however, Tevez did not feature in the side and flew back to Argentina the day before the game.