Carlos Tevez denies rift with Lionel Messi: I get on great with the 'dwarf'

Posted Tuesday, February 14, 2012 by Goal.com

Manchester City attacker Carlos Tevez has denied suggestions that he has a troubled relationship with Barcelona ace Lionel Messi in the Argentina national team.

Reports in the country had suggested that the attacking pair, who are considered the most talented players of their generation, did not get along and that there was room for just one of them in the team.

"Here people say that it is either Tevez or Messi and it does not have to be like that, because I get on great with the dwarf", Tevez told Fox Sports.

"Those people are wrong, he is a kid who does not talk much and I do not like when people say that we do not get on. I have a good relationship with him.

"It is easy to play with him. How could it be any different? If he has the ball, he has three players marking him. He is the greatest."

Manchester City expect the striker to return to the club on Tuesday after he went AWOL in Argentina following a bust-up with coach Roberto Mancini.

It was the second time that Tevez had fallen out with a coach in the space of months after former Argentina trainer Sergio Batista had publicly admitted to having an icy relationship with the player.

Batista initially considered leaving Tevez out of his plans for Copa America after the striker had dropped out of his Argentina squad ahead of a friendly match against Brazil, and he did not meet with the City man during a European tour.

"I called Messi to ask him for a shirt for my charity foundation," Tevez continued. "Then he asked me why I was not called up. I told him that when Batista travelled to Manchester, he did so to speak with [Pablo] Zabaleta, and not me.

"Messi then told me to speak with the Argentine FA, and that is what I did. I spoke with Jose Luis Brown and Alberto Rodriguez and they told me that I was not going to play the Copa America and that I should keep working for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

"I told them that if I was not going to play the Copa America, I was not going to play the World Cup either. Then Batista called me and we solved everything."

Tevez, who was the object of affection from Paris Saint-Germain, AC Milan and Inter in the January transfer window, then stated he is interested in a return to Boca Juniors, where he played between 1997 and 2004.

"My dream is to return to Boca," he added. "I had offers from Racing Club and Tigre and I want to thank them for that.

"But in Argentina I will only play for Boca."