Carlos Tevez will be entering the final 12 months of his current contract come the summer.
And his apparent reluctance to sign on the dotted line and commit his long-term future to the reigning Premier League champions is hardly a surprise from a man who has made no bones of his wish to see out his contract and return to his native Argentina.
He made that clear whilst still at Manchester United and the inevitable lack of sell on value was part of the reason for Sir Alex Ferguson’s hesitation in signing the Argentine, though not enough to stop him making his move.