Carlos Tevez, a former striker for Manchester United, Manchester City, and Juventus, has announced his retirement from football following the death of his father.
Segundo Raimundo, Tevez’s father and “number one fan,” got COVID-19 last year and died of complications in February 2021.
After departing Boca Juniors a year ago after a third term with the Buenos Aires giants, Tevez, now 38, has had offers to resume his playing career.
However, having been left bereft without his father’s presence, the Argentine legend no longer has the stamina to play and has decided to retire.
“I’ve retired, it’s confirmed,” Tevez declared in an emotional television appearance with Animales Sueltos.
“I had offers from many places, but as a player I had already given everything I had.
“My last year playing [at Boca] was very hard because he [Tevez’s father] was brain dead. I woke up one day and told Vane [wife Vanessa]: ‘I don’t want to play anymore’.
“I called Adrian [agent Adrian Ruocco] in the afternoon and told him: ‘Look, I’m not going to play anymore. I’m retiring’.
“They asked me all the time why I had stopped playing until I told them: ‘I stopped playing because I lost my number 1 fan’. I was eight years old and he was the one who came to watch me.
“Why else have I decided to retire? I told them: ‘I don’t play for anyone anymore’. I think that was the only time I really thought about myself. I had lost my number one fan and that made me not want to play anymore.”
During the conversation, both Tevez and the interviewer were teary-eyed as Tevez declared his career was ended.
Tevez began and ended a 20-year playing career with Boca Juniors, where he scored 94 goals in total.
But he was a revelation in English football, preventing West Ham from relegation after a contentious transfer in the 2006/07 season.
In two seasons with Manchester United, he won back-to-back Premier League titles and one Champions League, before making a surprise switch to City and winning the FA Cup and Premier League.
Tevez scored 84 goals in 202 Premier League appearances before starring for Juventus in Italy, where he scored 50 goals in 95 games.
Tevez, who had a brief but successful run with Shanghai Shenhua, will now pursue a coaching career.
According to Xinhua News Agency, Tevez stated, “I made the decision that I’m going to be a manager.”
“I’m ready to do it now. I’m learning how to communicate. It’s something I have to prepare for. I’m not going to accept a job with any old club and just tell the players they have to win or we’re all in trouble. I have to give the players the necessary tools to win.”