By Harry Harris, Football Correspondent
Manchester City have told ESPNsoccernet that Roberto Mancini did not try to broker a peace deal to resolve the disciplinary procedures against Carlos Tevez when the striker was summoned for late-night talks at his house in the early hours of Thursday morning.
• Tevez facing six-week ban from City
• City confirm proceedings
• Tevez facing further punishment
Reports suggested Tevez had been handed a lifeline, but Mancini simply wanted to inform him of his options regarding training, telling the striker, who has been ostracised since refusing to play against Bayern Munich on September 27, that if he apologised privately and publicly then he could return to training with the first-team.
Tevez is said to have refused, claiming it should be Mancini who apologises, and he left without a resolution being found. The Argentine was seen training alone on Thursday.
The meeting took place at 01.00 BST, hours after the Premier League giants announced disciplinary proceedings against the striker on Wednesday evening, but City are at pains to point out that their manager was sorting out the "day-to-day management of the player" rather than trying to settle the disciplinary issue.
Mancini at no time offered Tevez a peace deal or settlement over his proposed six-week su spension and possible fine of £1.5 million.
Mancini would have allowed Tevez to train with the first-team if he met a number of conditions, but Tevez refused to back down on his stance. The player feels he has nothing to apologise for, remaining adamant that he had only refused to warm-up again, having felt humiliated at not being the first substitute in Munich, but that he had at no time refused to play.
A City insider told ESPNsoccernet: "Roberto's motives were to avoid any showdown at the Carrington training ground when Tevez first showed up to train.
"The manager has got to manage the player until January. At no time did the manager try to negotiate a peace deal. Whatever was said or not said would have no bearing on the ongoing disciplinary procedure.
"It is clear that the manager told Tevez that if he said sorry to all concerned than there was an opportunity to train with the first-team. If that led eventually to a return to the first-te am, who knows? But whatever the manager said to his player was quite separate from the disciplinary procedures already in place. The talks would have had no impact on that, and not changed the outcome."
Tevez was in London on Wednesday, after flying back from Argentina, and about to catch a train back to Manchester when he was called by Mancini and asked to meet him at his home.
The training issue was discussed but Mancini made it clear that disciplinary action against Tevez would not be dropped and he could not give any guarantee that he would be considered for the first-team.
Asked at his Friday press conference if Tevez had a future with the
club, Mancini said: "I don't know.''
However, the City chief did give an indication Tevez was not in his plans when
he addressed how many strikers he had available for the Aston Villa game on Saturday.
2We have three strikers at this moment,'' said Mancini, who has vowed not to
take any risks with Sergio Aguero, who has been suffering from an adductor
muscle injury.
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