Corinthians claim Manchester City have not accepted offer for Carlos Tevez

Despite Roberto Mancini saying that an agreement had been reached, a statement from the Brazilian club reveals the sides are still in talks about a transfer for the Argentine
By Daniel Edwards

Corinthians have denied that they have reached an agreement with Manchester City over the transfer of Carlos Tevez, with a counter-proposal from the English club meaning that the two remain locked in negotiations.

The deal for the forward appeared to have been finalised, with only personal terms to be discussed. Corinthians director of football Edu Gaspar even told reporters that he expected the transfer to be sealed by Monday, leaving Tevez free to join the Sao Paulo giants following Argentina's Copa America elimination.

The reports were given further weight by manager Roberto Mancini, who stated that, while for the time being Tevez was a Manchester City player, an agreement had been reached with Corinthians.

The Brazilian club's board, however, released a statement on Monday morning affirming that negotiations were still ongoing, and that a demand from City for an improved offer had delayed confirmation.

"Given the news reports throughout the night surrounding the arrangement between Corinthians and striker Carlos Tevez, the club's president Andres Sanchez is keen to come forward to clarify that Manchester City has not accepted the proposal for the player," the statement read.

"In fact, the club sent a counter-proposal to Corinthians this morning, which due to time zone, did not reach the attention of the board until this morning.

"In the counter-proposal, the Premier League club seeks changes in the way of payment and the total value of the transaction. In addition, Manchester City also insists that Tevez give up a pending amount with the English club.

"Finally, the president Andres Sanchez advises that there is nothing concrete as of yet with Tevez and that the counter will be reviewed by him and his board."

Corinthians are keen to seal the return of the Argentine in order to strengthen their assault on the Brasileirao. The club are currently top of the pile in Brazil after 10 games, unbeaten with eight wins so far.