Christopher Chang: Tevez baggage too much for any team

Carlos Tevez: remember him? He was the terrier-like striker who would harass defenders and create havoc for anyone charged with the dreaded prospect of marking him. He would bang in the goals and bust a gut for his grateful teammates.

The AWOL Argentinian is still contracted to Manchester City, believe it or not, despite his best attempts to generate a transfer elsewhere. Advised by Kia Joorabchian, the epitome of all that is wrong with football agents, Tevez is stuck in a mess that leaves his reputation in the dirt.

Since refusing to come on as a substitute against Bayern Munich in the Champions League, the relationship between the player and Roberto Mancini has spiraled downhill. Not that it has hindered the club's title aspirations, as they sit pretty with United at the top.

With the breakdown of a potential move to AC Milan, Tevez now faces the prospect of staying in limbo until at least the end of the season. He is ending his strike and returning to Manchester, where he now faces the awkward prospect of working with people who will have no desire to see him.

The problem with the player now is that he carries too much baggage: a scheming agent, an enormous salary, a substantial transfer fee to prise him away (City have him under contract for the next two and a half years), and a mercenary attitude.

For all the stick thrown City's way for paying ostentatious wages, they must be applauded for rapping the spoiled Tevez hard across the knuckles.

His Manchester escape has now cost him nine million pounds ($NZ17.3 million) in fines from the club.

Perhaps not significant when put in the context of his career earnings, but you imagine it is still enough to antagonise the likes of Tevez and Joorabchian.

Player power has never been stronger and contracts often mean little when an individual wants to switch clubs. But the beauty for City is that they are not desperate to get Tevez off the salary bill and they can afford to shackle him to his contractual obligations.

Controlling a dressing room full of egos was always going to be the hardest task for Mancini. He has handled them fairly effectively so far and the Tevez affair reiterates who is in control.

Laughably, the striker has had the audacity to launch an appeal to the Premier League against the fines. Quite how Tevez expects to defend his past actions is up to the imagination. There should be few sympathisers with the toxic Tevez. Certainly, if he behaved similarly in any other form of employment, he would be straight out the door without a reference. An exceptional talent he may be, but classy he isn't.