Mancini surprised most observers on Tuesday night when he said Tevez was going to stay with Manchester City. Sources close to the South American denied this later in the week, insisting Tevez had still to determine his future plans. Yet Mancini remains unrepentant, insisting his view was born of a clarification he was forced to give to Tevez himself. "First of all, I spoke with some Italian journalists who asked me whether it was possible Carlos could one day go to Inter or Juventus," recounted Mancini. "I said 'I don't know. Maybe. Carlos is in Italy for treatment'. "In the newspapers it came out that I said Carlos wants to go to Italy. I didn't say this. "Carlos came to me and asked why I had said this. I said I hadn't. I said I didn't know whether he wants to stay or go to Italy. "Carlos said he wants to stay. Finished. This is history." Heading into Sunday's final Premier League game at Bolton, when a victory would seal third spot for the FA Cup winners, Tevez's importance can hardly be understated. If he left Eastlands, it would present Mancini with a tough problem at a time when, whether he likes it or not, he is going to be operating with a much stricter budget. "In one year it is impossible to improve 200%, so we can beat Barcelona easily," he said. "We need to have other players. "(Chairman) Khaldoon (al-Mubarak) understands how difficult it is to win in the Champions League on a Wednesday and the Premier League on a Saturday. "If you don't have 23 or 24 really good players it is really difficult. "Manchester United have all their experience and won many trophies. "They played in the semi-final with probably 11 different players to the ones who played in the final. This says something I think." Mancini is either failing to understand, or a preferring not to, the implications of UEFA's new financial fair play rules, which restrict clubs to losing an average of £39.5million over the next three years. Given City lost £121million, more than their entire allocated sum for the three years combined, last year, it is clearly going to a problem meeting the targets without any more cash being invested. There are fresh revenue streams imminent, through the Champions League and naming rights for the stadium. However, the prospect of an additional windfall via player sales is limited due to the massive wages players such as Wayne Bridge, Roque Santa Cruz, Craig Bellamy and Emmanuel Adebayor earn, all of whom are deemed surplus to requirements.
