Manchester. Manchester City has been the capital of player controversies in recent years but not even they could have expected Carlos Tevez to cause another storm at the club by refusing to play.

The Argentina international refused to come on as a substitute in the second-half of Manchester City’s 2-0 defeat at Bayern Munich in the Champions League, with manager Roberto Mancini claiming he is ‘finished’ with the striker.  But he isn’t the first player to refuse to take to the pitch and he won’t be the last. Sportsmail looks back on five other footballers who have refused to carry out their day job.

Tottenham’s start to the 2007/08 season was already a disaster before they travelled to Newcastle for a mid-week fixture, with boss Martin Jol fighting to cling on to his job.

Having dropped Dimitar Berbatov for the match at St James’ Park, Jol called on the Bulgarian just after half-time when Spurs were already 2-0 down. The Bulgarian initially refused before reluctantly taking to the pitch – Jol was sacked five days later.

At the start of the following season, Berbatov was involved in another storm as he refused to play for Juande Ramos’s Spurs side to try and force through a move to Manchester United. He got his wish as the north London side caved into United’s offer on transfer deadline day.

After his outburst and refusal to play recently, it seems as though Carlos Tevez has given up on his Manchester City career. It also means yet another new beginning for Carlos who has so far had a career that has been anything other than plain sailing. From the day he touched down on English soil in 2006 it has been nothing but drama for the Argentine forward, but where next for him?

Inter Milan
Having been spotted meeting with Inter coach Marco Branca during the summer it seemed as though a move to the club would materialise before the start of the season. That wasn’t to be the case and Tevez remained with City. The haggle was over City’s asking price for the forward, after requesting significantly more for letting him move to another European side. With a change in management it seems as though new boss Claudio Ranieri is keen on replacing one of his forwards with Tevez to reinvent their attacking options.

AC Milan
Having happily crossed the divide to join Manchester City from Manchester United, it would be typical of the man’s career to have the two Milan clubs go head-to-head for his signature. The Milan clubs have been known in the past to battle it out for players and the uncertainty over Tevez’ future may provide the ammunition to set off another bidding war between them.

Real Madrid
Jose Mourinho is man who himself has never shied away from controversy. Mourinho has also expressed an interest in signing Tevez in the past, namely with Chelsea. Real Madrid have only two fit strikers available currently and are hoping to splash out on a new forward in January, with Tevez being their number one target.

Corinthians
Tevez came so close to returning to Brazil in the summer, only for the transfer window to slam shut. Corinthians have admitted that a deal is still likely in January. With Tevez being keen to return to South America it seems as if this would be the best option for him, although Corinthians may struggle to put up the cash.

Boca Juniors
This is where his controversial career began many years ago. Tevez has admitted many times that he has a soft spot for his first club and will return to Boca before he hangs up his boots. Perhaps Tevez will see it as too early in his career to ‘return home’ but if he is willing to move back to Corinthians then there is no reason for him not to consider going back to Boca.

Chelsea
Chelsea were one of the first clubs in England to be linked with Tevez before his move to West Ham in 2006. Having missed out on his signature three times, the 2012 transfer window may be their chance. The club are looking to replace Fernando Torres but the reality is that Tevez doesn’t just want out of Manchester but probably England as well.

Pablo Zabaleta believes it is up to the Manchester City players to try and help Carlos Tevez.
The Argentine, who has twice announced a desire to leave the Blues in the recent past, caused controversy on Tuesday when he apparently refused to step off the bench during a UEFA Champions League clash with Bayern Munich.

Tevez has since denied the claims, but City suspended him on Wednesday pending a full investigation into his actions.

Zabaleta was also among the substitutes against Bayern and was seen talking to his international colleague throughout the game.

He insists he was unaware of what was unfolding around him, as manager Roberto Mancini was left fuming on the sidelines.

He has, however, vowed to help Tevez through a troubled period in his career and claims to understand how the frustrated forward must be feeling.

“We need to try to help Carlos,” said Zabaleta.

“He has been a really important player for us in the last two years but maybe this season he has had more games on the bench.

“Sometimes that is difficult, and more so for strikers, who need to play, need to score, need to feel confidence.”
Zabaleta appreciates that  Tevez  wants to play every game, as he feels exactly the same, but concedes that, given the competition for places at City, it is not always possible.

“Everybody always wants to play, maybe it’s like that,” said the 26-year-old.
“It is a difficult moment for him but we need to be calm.

“All players have different characters and sometimes the decision is going to be very difficult for everybody because we have too many players.

“We need to accept that sometimes we are on the bench but we always have to be looking to get into the team.”

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