Corinthians balk at 'absurd' £49m asking price to bring back Tevez

(AP)

Manchester City were last night heading towards a rejection of Corinthians' improbable €40m (£35.3m) bid for Carlos Tevez, with comments from a director of the Brazilian club heightening anxieties that they will simply not be able to pay for the striker.

City were in talks to discuss the offer last night but the vice-director of football at Corinthians, Duilio Alves, had said from the outset that the £49m price being asked for Tevez (pictured) was "an absurd figure, unviable for the Brazilian football market" and suggested a loan deal.

City, who feel that the financing of any such transfer would be complicated, are likely to dismiss a loan out of hand. There is also uncertainty about whether the bid is entirely Corin-thians', or rather that of Tevez's representative Kia Joorabchian, who once owned the club.

Corinthians' president compounded the feeling that this was an unrealistic proposition when he said last night that Tevez had accepted a four-year contract but that the deal was dead if not concluded by Sunday.

"If City want €50m [£44m] then he will stay in England. We are not going to improve the offer," said Andres Sanchez. "The offer is made. But between the offer and him coming, there is a distance."