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Argentine striker Carlos Tevez smiles during a press conference in Shanghai on January 21, 2017. Photo: AFP

Carlos Tevez insists reports he will earn US$800,000 a week in China are untrue as he is unveiled by Shanghai

Don’t believe the ‘legends’ insists Argentina striker as he meets press and teammates in Shanghai

Carlos Tevez insisted widely reported claims that he will earn almost US$800,000 a week in China were not accurate as he was unveiled to the media – though he wouldn’t reveal how much Shanghai Shenhua are paying him.

Reports citing “sources close to Tevez” have claimed that the Argentine striker will earn 38 million (HK$315 million) a season after signing from Boca Juniors.

 Watch: Carlos Tevez presented at his new club Shanghai Shenhua

“After my last game I didn’t mention anything to the local media about my salary in China,” said Tevez, Sina Sports reported.

“Salary matters shouldn’t be told to everyone, it’s a matter of respect for my teammates,” he added. “My salary isn’t as high as the legends, but in order to respect my teammates I won’t tell you how much.”

Carlos Tevez shakes hands with his new teammates as he takes part in his first training session with his new club Shanghai Shenhua in Shanghai on January 21, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / STR / China OUT

Club chairman Wu Xiaohui also said the reports were not accurate and claimed Shenhua might not have signed any foreign players at all had former Chelsea striker Demba Ba not broken his leg in July.

“It’s impossible to tell everyone directly but from the first day Greenland took over Shenhua I said we’d do 5 billion worth of results with 3 billion investment,” he said.

“Reasonable and rational investment is the basic management guideline and requirement.

“This year we did more than last year because Demba Ba got seriously injured, otherwise we might not have bought a foreign player at all.”

Shenhua owner Greenland Group is a real estate developer partly owned by the Shanghai municipal government.

Tevez jogs in training. Photo: AFP
The Chinese Football Association on Thursday announced sweeping new proposals to rein in China’s extravagant spending on foreign players.

Former Manchester United and Juventus player Tevez, 32, was mobbed on his arrival in Shanghai on Thursday. He met his teammates at a training session on Saturday attended by hundreds of fans and said he hoped to live up to fans’ expectations.

“There will probably be pressure, but because I love football very much I will use my passion for the sport. Even if there will be pressure I will forget about it on the field,” he said.

“I know the CSL is getting tougher and tougher year after year, and this year will be extremely intense.”

He called the coming season “a very big challenge”.

Tevez, who complained of homesickness while playing in Europe, will have 19 people including eight children living with him, according to reports in Chinese media: he and his wife’s families plus friends.

Tevez will wear No.32. Photo: AFP

Chinese clubs have repeatedly smashed the Asian transfer record in the last couple of years after the government demanded the country become a “football superpower”.

But the powers that be appear to have become concerned that “irrational investment” is sending the wrong message, not helping the China national team and may be a source of corruption.

Chelsea’s Oscar joined Shanghai SIPG for a reported 60 million this month before last week’s rule changes limiting the number of foreign players allowed.

Tevez said the warm welcome “made me realise that I have a new home.”

Tevez says he has a “new home”. Photo: AFP

Tevez said he had been asked by club owners to greet the press in Shanghainese and had spent the morning practising but felt “too nervous in front of so many people”.

Meanwhile, SIPG were forced to deny that Oscar had quit the club just days after the claim went viral on China’s social media.

The Brazilian midfielder has indeed returned to London, but only for a few days to attend to personal matters, the club insisted.

Additional reporting: Agence France-Presse

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Tevez insists Shanghai salary ‘isn’t as high as the legends’
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