Former Manchester United forward Carlos Tevez has given a rare interview on his spell at the club and decision to leave.

Carlos Tevez was part of one of Manchester United’s greatest forward trios, winning the Champions League in 2008 with Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo. But instead of being celebrated as a club legend, Tevez is held in poor regard after leaving the club to sign for rivals City.

Speaking to Rio Ferdinand Presents, Tevez caught up with his former teammate to give his side of the story on why he left the club.

United signed Dimitar Berbatov in 2008 to add competition to the forward line and help prepare for an inevitable Cristiano Ronaldo departure later down the line. But United also lost Tevez in 2009 too.

Tevez claims that Sir Alex Ferguson promised in summer 2008 he would action a deal to sign Tevez permanently, but as the season went on, the Argentine lost belief this would happen. He reveals that he felt he was benched to suppress his value, and did not take kindly to it.

Tevez explains: “Fergie told me, “Carlos, now I’m going to pay out your contract and you’re going to stay in Manchester. I think that Ferguson had, from the day we talked in Los Angeles up to six months to keep his word.

“And he didn’t. On the contrary, he started leaving me on the bench. In my head. He started pushing me aside so he could bring down what I was worth. And that’s what hurt me the most.”

At the end of the 2008/09 season, when United reached out to Tevez’s representatives to do a deal, the forward had already made up his mind that his future lay elsewhere.

Sir Alex Ferguson won TWO Champions League titles in 1999 and 2008, but had several near-misses…

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Tevez reflects on exit and United preference

Former chief executive David Gill previously stated that United had an option in place to sign Tevez, and the player’s decision to leave was financially motivated, adding: “if Carlos had been insistent on staying at Manchester United, he could have stayed at Manchester United.”

While Tevez has his own version of events, he also has some regret that his Manchester United trio with Rooney and Ronaldo was not given more time .

“For me, the team in Man United was unbelievable. Like I said before, for me, if this team had stayed five, seven years, we could have won the Champions League four times, for me.”

Ferdinand pressed Tevez on whether he has a preference for United or City, and he explained that he remembers his time on the red side of Manchester more fondly, despite his misgivings on how he felt he was treated by Ferguson.

Tevez said: “Look, I feel like I left a lot, at both teams. But if you make me choose, let’s say, I had a great time at United. The other team, City, for me, was like a revenge for how can I put it, ‘I didn’t get back what I gave.’