Carlos Tevez REFUSED to learn English during his Premier League stay because of a ‘cultural problem’
Argentine former Man United and Man City footballer Carlos Tevez reveals he REFUSED to learn English in his seven years in England, out of anger his uncle became an alcoholic after fighting in the Falklands War
- Carlos Tevez spent spells at both Manchester City and Manchester United
- However, the outspoken striker decided early on that he would not learn English
- Instead, due to a cultural issue, Tevez wanted people to address him in Spanish
Carlos Tevez has revealed that he refused to learn English during his seven years in the Premier League because of his “cultural problem” with the British.
The former Manchester United and Manchester City striker said he decided early on that if someone wanted to speak to him, they had to learn Spanish.
And the ex-Argentina star, who also played for West Ham, has cited his uncle’s descent into alcoholism following a Falklands War call-up that revealed his hopes of becoming a professional footballer as the reason for his reluctance to adapt to the English culture.
Tevez, who famously complained on Argentine TV when he was City captain that everything about Manchester was bad, told a radio interviewer in his home country this weekend: “I had a cultural problem with the English.
‘I didn’t want to learn English, I wanted them to learn Spanish.
Carlos Tevez revealed that he refused to speak English during his seven-year stay in the Premier League
Tevez, the former star of Manchester United and Man City, cited a cultural problem with the English
Instead, Tevez wanted to be addressed in Spanish and spoke openly about his distaste for the city
“I have an uncle who was in River Plate. He’s the only River supporter in my family.
“He played in the reserve team and when he was due to make his first team debut he was called up to fight in the Falklands War.
He suffered afterwards and became an alcoholic. That marked me a lot because he was very close to me.’
The 39-year-old spoke about his feelings about England on DSportsRadio, adding: “The seven years I spent in England were, ‘Okay, I’m here for work, but I’m not getting used to English culture. There’s a reason .”
“Very few people know this story, but today I can tell it.
“You want to speak to me. Then you learn Spanish, because I’m not going to learn English.’
Fellow Argentine Pablo Zabaleta urged Tevez to improve his English for the good of the team when they were both at City after the striker moved from their rivals United.
Zabaleta said in October 2009 after becoming fluent in English just over a year after arriving in the UK: ‘Carlos sometimes tries to speak English.
“I told him to come to me for lessons. I didn’t speak English yet, but I learned that here. When I arrived I couldn’t say anything. I had English lessons once a week. It’s important because we have to talk to teammates and managers. And we will live in England in the future, so my English is getting better and better.’
Tevez (right) referred to his father’s call for the Falklands War when explaining his position
Former teammate Pablo Zabaleta (left) urged Tevez to learn English for the good of the team
Tevez’s reluctance to learn the language was one of the criticisms leveled at him while he was at Old Trafford.
He escaped punishment for a serious traffic violation in September 2011 because his English was so bad that he couldn’t read the fine sent to him.
Tevez, manager of Argentina’s top team Rosario Central until the end of last year, made his feelings about Manchester abundantly clear when he was interviewed on one of his country’s leading TV shows in June 2011 when he was City captain.
He moaned that he couldn’t wait to get out of town for good, claiming the area had “nothing.”
Susana Gimenez, the Argentinian Oprah Winfrey who interviewed him, pointed out that another South American celebrity – model Evangelina Anderson – had bought a house in the sun-drenched Spanish resort of Marbella.
Tevez laughed as he replied: ‘Yes, but Marbella is different from Manchester. You can buy a holiday home in Marbella. But I’m never going back to Manchester, not even on holiday, for anything.
Tevez, recently the manager of Rosario Central, made his feelings clear during an interview
“Of course I would buy a house in Marbella.”
When asked if it was just the weather that made Manchester so bad, Tevez replied: ‘The weather, everything. It has nothing.
‘In Marbella, for example, you can buy a house on the beach, relax there and go on holiday later and so on.
‘But a house in Manchester? In addition, a house in Manchester costs six or seven million pounds. pounds!
“It’s better to rent and that’s that.”
