17 November 2023 , 07:30
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Carlos Tevez once did something very few footballers have done: Earn more money than Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
The Argentinian striker came from humble beginnings to become one of the best players in the world. When he was signed by Chinese club Shanghai Shenhua in December 2016, he earned a reported £34-38 million annually.
His £600,000-a-week deal saw him reportedly become the highest-paid footballer in the world. He was said to earn more than Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi did at the time in the peak of their powers at Real Madrid and Barcelona respectively., although he refused to confirm just how much he was being paid.
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"After my last game I didn't mention anything to the local media about my salary in China," Tevez said at the time. "Salary matters shouldn't be told to everyone, it's a matter of respect for my team-mates. My salary isn't as high as the legends, but in order to respect my team-mates, I won't tell you how much."
Tevez would only appear in 16 games for the Chinese club, scoring four goals in two seasons before returning to Argentina to play for Boca Juniors for the third and last time. His return to his homeland saw him go back to his roots, where he had come from a tough upbringing to make millions in a glittering career.
Before moving to China, Tevez spoke candidly about his childhood and the circumstances he lived in growing up. He told The Weekly : "It is tough to make people understand what life is like if they haven't been through the same things as I have experienced, so people can make of it what they want.
Carlos Tevez, at one point, earned more than his fellow Argentinian, Lionel Messi. (Photo by Gabriel Rossi/LatinContent via Getty Images)"You can't get inside the heads of other people and say to them 'look, I went through some rough times'. It is impossible to explain everything the streets taught me - and that was quite a lot.
"My whole childhood was hard. I lived in a place where drugs and murder were part of everyday life. Experiencing difficult things, even as a very young kid, means you grow up quickly.
"I think that enables everyone to choose their own path and not just accept the one others have taken before you. I never condoned drugs or murder and luckily I was able to make a choice."
Tevez retired from professional football in 2022, after making the rounds in the Premier League. Spending the first four years of his career with Boca Juniors, Tevez spent two years with Corinthians before signing with West Ham.
He, then, was loaned to Manchester United and then controversially chose to sign with Manchester City in 2009, angering fans. Tevez was most successful with City, spending the next four seasons with the club before signing a three-year contract with Juventus in 2013.
Tevez then spent the last handful of seasons of his career in China and Argentina before finally hanging up his boots last year. Since then the forward has been managing Independiente, one of Argentina's biggest and most successful clubs.