The striker has signed for Shanghai Shenhua in a massive deal but is being tipped to only enjoy a short stay in the Far East before heading home
Carlos Tevez could return to Boca Juniors as early as next year, according to President of Argentina Mauricio Macri.
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The 32-year-old striker has agreed to join Chinese Super League side Shanghai Shenhua in a deal that will makes him the highest-paid player in world football.
Tevez only returned to his boyhood club last year but will now head to China where he is set to earn an estimated salary of £32 million-a-year.
Macri, a former chairman of Boca Juniors, says he understands why the 32-year-old has made the decision to leave the club but is hopeful his stay in the Far East may be short-lived.
“Tevez’s sale to Chinese football will improve the relationship between both countries,” he told Radio Mitre .
“As a selfish Boca fan I didn’t want him to go, but I know that he needed to.
“I love Carlitos. I told him he had to come back from Europe. I understand him now: his treatment here wore him down. He needed to take a rest and live in peace again.
“Boca is very demanding, very invasive. And Carlitos needs his space. I think what he’s done is a good thing. Eight months will fly by, maybe we will have him back next year.”
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Tevez is no stranger to high-profile transfers, having made the shock move to West Ham, along with Javier Mascherano in 2006. before swapping Manchester United for City in 2009.
The striker also enjoyed two years at Juventus, winning two Serie A titles, before returning to Boca Juniors in 2015 and winning a league and cup double in his first season back.
The new Shenhua recruit will join up with former Premier League stars Demba Ba and Obafemi Martin in Gus Poyet’s side.