Paul Pogba pays visit to Carlos Tevez in China as Shanghai Shenhua striker says he could leave
Former Juventus teammates reunite in Shanghai with the Manchester United midfielder enjoying a holiday
Carlos Tevez may be unhappy in China, according to media reports, but he certainly cheered up when he was paid a visit by his former Juventus teammate Paul Pogba on Saturday.
The Argentine striker is reported to be earning an astonishing US$800,000 a week at Chinese Super League club Shanghai Shenhua, but has had trouble settling in to his new surroundings and is considering his future.
But Tevez was beaming from ear to ear as he hung out with Manchester United midfielder Pogba, who is currently on holiday – and seemingly a promotional tour – in China.
A post shared by Paul Labile Pogba (@paulpogba) on Jun 17, 2017 at 11:52am PDT
The pair starred for Juventus between 2013 and 2015, before Tevez returned to his boyhood club, Boca Juniors.
They were reunited at last, with the Frenchman receiving a Shenhua jersey from Tevez and presenting him with a signed United No 6 shirt.
United fans may not be too happy to see him wearing their shirt again, given his acrimonious departure from the club to rivals Manchester City in 2009 – and perhaps neither will City supporters.
But it was all smiles between Tevez and Pogba, 24, who also filmed two short videos of them laughing and joking, and posted them on Instagram – the first captioned “great to see you bro”.
The United star’s exploits in China have been well-documented on social media, with Pogba visiting the Great Wall of China earlier this week and performing a trademark ‘dab’.
While the 33-year-old Tevez seemed in good mood in the videos –well, being one of the world’s highest-paid footballers is certainly enough reason to be cheerful – he threw his future at Shanghai Shenhua into doubt in an interview with an Argentinian sports channel.
The striker said he was open to a return to Boca this year.
“I left not to hurt Boca,” Tevez told TyC Sports. “Honestly, I do not know what I’m going to do at the end of the year.
“If I’m not hungry for glory, it’s very difficult to stay in the club. I have to find myself to go back, I know I gave them everything.
Tevez also dismissed speculation that his decision to leave in December upset the Argentine club.
“When I left, my silence bothered journalists more than people,” he continued. “The press wanted me to say goodbye with a note, they are difficult.
“For me it was not easy either. Boca fans always want to see me with that shirt.
“First – when the millionaire offer came from China – I said no, I had Boca in my head. The final decision was in the last game, with [partner] Vane.
“I did not want to hurt the club. Flor, my eldest daughter, went down to the dressing room asking me not to leave. It was easy to stay, the fans love me, but I did the difficult thing.”
A post shared by Paul Labile Pogba (@paulpogba) on Jun 17, 2017 at 12:03pm PDT
Tevez has endured a rocky start to life in China, with Shanghai Shenhua suffering an embarrassing defeat to Brisbane Roar in their AFC Champions League play-off.
His coach, Gus Poyet, admitted Tevez was struggling to adapt to the language and the food in China, and that he had surrounded himself with lots of family members and friends.
The striker caused uproar in local media after being snapped with some of those family members and friends on a trip to Shanghai Disneyland.
He missed a game against Changchun Yatai on the same day through injury but said he only went to the theme park after completing his training program for the day.
