Former Manchester United forward Carlos Tevez has claimed Sir Alex Ferguson broke a promise to him before he left the club to join arch rivals Manchester City - and that the fallout of his move had made him 'want to kill' Gary Neville.

Tevez infamously made the switch from United, where he was on loan, to City in 2009. He would go on to win the Premier League for a third time, and hold a banner reading 'RIP Fergie' during the 2012 title celebrations.

The former forward would later try and explain his actions, but has now revealed that Ferguson is responsible for the reason why he left the club.

Tevez was appearing on the Rio Ferdinand Presents channel, and said: 'They spoke to me (before) the two-year loan. After, if you play well, (we) pay the contract after one year. 

'Fergie told me, “Carlos, now I'm going to pay out your contract and you're going to stay in Manchester". The team went to a pre-season. I remember this conversation with Fergie. He said “I’m going to pay for Berbatov but you, don't worry, I'm going to buy you and we'll do your contract.'

That didn't transpire, though, and United refused to pay the fee that would have his deal made permanent. He stayed at the club for another year before leaving.

'For me, the people understand,' Tevez said of the United fans, who have been split on their view of him since he departed. 'They don’t understand about Fergie speaking to me, or behind the scenes. What happened between Fergie and me, I think people don't understand that.'

He added: 'I think that Ferguson had, from the day we talked, 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.'

The move across town, despite Man City's then-status as the under-achieving neighbours, ruffled feathers at his former club, with Tevez recollecting that one former team-mate - Neville - was especially critical. 

'We went to play against you - you wanted to kill Gary Neville?' Ferdinand recalled, with Tevez agreeing that he had 'wanted to fight'. 

Another opponent who felt his ire during that first ire was Rafael, but as Tevez noted, he was just 'aggressive (and) young'. 

'But it is on the pitch,' he stressed. 'Gary Neville, in the press.'

Ferdinand recalled that he had seen Tevez's anger at the defender 'in his eyes' after believing that Neville had been 'speaking too much' about his former team-mate's departure. 

'Gary, he said that I didn't respect Ferguson,' Tevez added. 'He didn't understand me. He didn't understand the situation.'

Amid the lingering bad blood, Ferdinand also noted that the situation had 'killed' Man United. 

While the club would go on to win the Premier League title at the end of the 2012-13 season, they have not won the league since. 

But it seems Tevez, who is now a manager and was most recently in charge of Talleres in his native Argentina, still has a soft spot for the Red Devils, despite all that went on after his departure.

'For me it was hard, Rio,' he added. 'It was hard because I felt like I'd given my heart to United. And I didn't feel the same.

'I didn't feel the same because, if you remember, we won the Champions League. We won the league and, and then, to bring down my price, they brought in a player and I carried on the same way for the first months. The second months, let's say, of the second year. But by the second, the second month, I didn't want to know any more.'

He added: 'I had a great time at United. The other team, City, for me, was like a revenge. I didn't get back what I gave.'

READ MORE: Man United fans see their owners for what they are. They see their greed and acquisitiveness. Man City fans are still in denial about theirs: OLIVER HOLT 

Head to the Rio Ferdinand Presents YouTube channel to watch the full interview, available from 8.00 UK time on Thursday 29th October