Manchester City insist they have done nothing that would wreck Carlos Tevez's proposed £40m move to Corinthians. City thought they had done a deal with the Brazilian giants for the Argentina forward to get his hoped-for return to South America.

However, Corinthians then released a statement claiming there had been no deal and City had made amendments to the original offer. This has come as no surprise to City, who always feared unforeseen problems would occur.

Privately, they are adamant there were no alterations to Corinthians' proposal that would affect the transfer, and their only concern surrounded the precise structure of the payment. The Manchester outfit are adamant the overall bid has been accepted, with the fee less than they were hoping for, and now they can do no more than wait for O Timão to clarify their position.

"Regarding the news published during the early hours of today stating an agreement between Corinthians and striker Carlos Tevez, president Andres Sanchez would like to clarify to the public that Manchester City did not accept the Corinthians offer for the player," read the statement.

President Andres Sanchez would like to clarify to the public that Manchester City did not accept the Corinthians offer for the player. The truth is that the club sent Corinthians a counter-proposal.
A Corinthians statement

"The truth is that the club sent Corinthians a counter-proposal in the early hours, that due to the time difference only was noticed by the Alvinegra management this morning. In the counter-proposal, the English club have asked for changes in the form of payment and on the value of the transfer.

"In addition, Manchester City have also insisted that Tevez would have to give up a pending amount with the English club. Lastly, president Andres Sanchez informs that for the time being there does not exist anything concrete for Tevez, and the counter-proposal will be analysed by him and by his management."

It is not known at City whether the move has stalled to allow counter offers to come in but given the opportunity of a fresh start, it would be bizarre if Tevez did not accept it immediately. The 27-year-old has made no secret of his desire to leave Manchester and move somewhere closer to his wife Vanesa and two young daughters. He will leave a massive hole given he finished last term as captain and the Premier League's joint-top scorer, justifying his status as the division's highest-paid player.

However, recently-retired midfielder Patrick Vieira is convinced the club can quickly move on. The Frenchman said: "It is never easy to lose players like Carlos Tevez.

In the last two years he has been fantastic for the football club, scoring goals. The club has grown that fast and Carlos has made a huge contribution to it, like all the players.

"But in football, it is not the first time a big club has lost a big player. Life goes on. If Carlos does leave we just have to wish him good luck and say thank you for everything he has done for the football club."