Carlos Tevez claimed Wednesday that he was ''misunderstood'' and did not refuse to play in Manchester City's Champions League match at Bayern Munich.
The striker issued a statement contradicting the account of manager Roberto Mancini, who said the player's career at City was over for refusing to come off the bench in the second half of the 2-0 loss on Tuesday.
''I would like to apologize to all Manchester City fans, with whom I have always had a strong relationship, for any misunderstanding that occurred in Munich,'' Tevez said in a statement. ''They understand that when I am on the pitch I have always given my best for the club.
''In Munich on Tuesday I had warmed up and was ready to play. This is not the right time to get into specific details as to why this did not happen. But I wish to state that I never refused to play.''
Tevez appeared to refuse to leave the substitutes' bench when Mancini wanted to bring him on for Samir Nasri with around 30 minutes to go with City was already trailing 2-0.
''There was some confusion on the bench and I believe my position may have been misunderstood,'' Tevez said. ''Going forward I am ready to play when required and to fulfill my obligations.''
It follows a turbulent period for the player who left crosstown rival Manchester United in the 2009 offseason as part of City's bid-spending rebuilding of the squad under Abu Dhabi ownership.
The 27-year-old Tevez captained City last season and lifted the FA Cup for the club in May - City's first major trophy since 1976.
But it came after he asked to leave the club in January and the May triumph was followed by him again pushing for a transfer during the offseason to be closer to his family in Argentina.
But no club met City's reported 50-million pound ($79 million) asking price and he has started just one Premier League game of six so far, the Sept. 10 victory over Wigan when he featured for 61 minutes.
Mancini announced in Munich that he plans to speak with City chairman Khaldoon al-Mubarak in the coming days to discuss Tevez's future after declaring ''with me, he's finished.''
''If I decided, yes (he would leave) - he wanted to leave last year,'' Mancini said. ''I helped him for two years every time. He refused to play. I cannot accept this behavior from him. I decide the substitutions, not Carlos.''
