By Tom Malley

After months of claim, counter claim, conjecture and rumour it is now confirmed that Carlos Tevez is to leave Manchester United. That may not come as a surprise to some, but what I think did raise a few eyebrows was that it was Tevez who decided to leave, rather than Manchester United deciding not to offer him a new deal.

As Tevez grabbed two vital goals towards the end of Manchester United’s title winning campaign the crowd’s appeal to the United board to sign the Argentinean up reached fever pitch. When the record breaking deal to sell Ronaldo to Real Madrid was revealed I thought it would only be a matter of time before the Tevez deal was sealed. After all that gave United the finance to complete the transfer and Tevez a gap in the starting XI to aim for.

But ultimately I think United’s refusal to see Tevez as a first choice striker in the big games and their hesitation to hand him a new deal forced Tevez’s hand.

As honest and hard-working a player as you can find, you get the impression that all he wants to do above everything else is play regular football. He could quite happily play second fiddle at United and still pick up bagfuls of medals and the adulation of the fans. But in making the move I think his patience has worn thin.
But is he making a mistake?

After all, look at the two clubs after him, Man City and Chelsea. If he made the short journey across Manchester he would, of course, be joining a side rapidly filling with expensive imports. However, that is no guarantee for success and it could be a few more years before City have the squad to upset the football odds and compete regularly for top honours - is that too long a wait?

Chelsea are much more likely to be in the shake up for honours in the coming years but the big spending Londoners have a huge squad themselves. There may be no more guarantee of more games there than there is at Old Trafford.

Either way it is a pivotal point in Tevez’s career and is certainly the less comfortable option. If it pays off he could bag himself more games, more goals and lots of trophies. If it goes wrong, he may take a long rueful look at Old Trafford the next time they add to their ever-burgeoning list of honours.