Mancini: Drawing the line

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Mancini tired of Tevez saga

Manchester City manager Robert Mancini has drawn a line under the Carlos Tevez affair, for the time being at least.

City will face Porto in the first leg of their Europa League last 32 clash in Portugal on Thursday evening, but the build-up to the match has been overshadowed by Tevez.

The diminutive Argentinean ended his three-month self-imposed exile earlier this week and returned to the team’s Carrington training ground.

As usual, Tevez had plenty to say before he arrived back in England and claimed Mancini treated him “like a dog”.

The City boss, though, refuted those suggestions and says he is done fielding questions about the Tevez saga.

“I totally disagree with Carlos, what he said, because I have never treated him badly,” Mancini said.

“Maybe it is the opposite, I treated him too well, always.

“This is the last question I answer (on this) in the next three months. I don’t want to talk any more.”

Tevez has not been included in the City squad for the Europa League, but his presence at Carrington has drawn plenty of journalists to the training ground.

Midfielder James Milner also brushed off suggestions that the dispute between the former City skipper will distract the players ahead of the Porto clash.

“There are more people stood outside the training ground but to us we just go out there and work hard every day in training, like we have all year,” he said.

“Nothing changes, our focus is on the games coming up. The only thing we will do is go out there and try to win football matches.”