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Manchester United player profile - Carlos Tevez

Carlos Tevez, the Manchester United and Argentina footballer, was born Carlos Alberto Martinez on 5th February 1984 in Ciudadela, Buenos Aires, Argentina. He became Carlos Tevez as a young child when his mother changed his surname to be the same as her own. He was raised in the 'Fuerte Apache' neighbourhood from where he was given the nickname 'Apache' and as a young boy Carlos Tevez was involved in an accident with boiling water, which left him with a scar across his neck and chest. Carlos Tevez's footballing talents were evident early on and at eight years old he signed for the All Boys team where he remained for four years. In 1997 he joined Boca Juniors youth side and progressed to the senior team in 2001.

Carlos Tevez's made his professional debut for Boca Juniors when he was 16 years old against Talleres de Cordoba. He went on to enjoy a successful career with Boca Juniors, winning the Argentine league championship in 2003 amongst other trophies, until his transfer to Brazilian league side Corinthians in 2004. In the same year Carlos Tevez gained world exposure as a result of his performance for gold medalists Argentina in the 2004 Olympics in Athens. The deal which took Carlos Tevez to Corinthians involved the 'Media Sports Investment' company and was the biggest in South American footballing history, he went on to captain Corinthians leading them to the Brazilian league championship in 2005.

Carlos Tevez was involved in a surprise transfer move in 2006 when he and Argentine team-mate Javier Mascherano were unveiled as West Ham players, this followed speculation that interest in Carlos Tevez had been shown by some of the bigger European sides. He had an unremarkable start to his time in the premier league and only enjoyed regular first team football in the second half of the season when West Ham manager Alan Pardew was replaced by Alan Curbishly. Carlos Tevez was instrumental in saving West Ham United from relegation in 2007 and was awarded the club's player of the year trophy.

Carlos Tevez's move to West Ham United proved to be controversial as the player's contracts were not owned by the club but instead by Media Sports Investments, this contravened the Premier Leagues rules for which West Ham were heavily fined. West Ham were never expected to hang on to Carlos Tevez and after much legal wrangling and rumour he finally became a Manchester United player in August 2007. That same month he made his debut as a substitute in a 1-1 draw against Portsmouth and a month later scored his first goal for the club in a 2-0 win over Chelsea. In his first season with Manchester United Carlos Tevez was an integral part of the first team that won both the 2008 Premier League and UEFA Champions League.