By George Ankers
18 Jul 2011 15:37:00
Patrick Vieira, Manchester City (Getty Images)
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Patrick Vieira says the imminent departure of Carlos Tevez will not stop Manchester City from achieving their goals.
Vieira, who retired last week to take on a football development role behind the scenes at the club, believes the City squad will step up and share Tevez’s responsibilities when his transfer to Corinthians is confirmed.
“It is never easy to lose players like Carlos Tevez,” the Frenchman told The Daily Telegraph.
“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.”
Manager Roberto Mancini agreed on Monday to allow Tevez to move to Corinthians, with the player keen to be closer to his children.
And Vieira does not feel that losing the club captain will stop City from pushing on from last year’s FA Cup victory.
“I believe we can still achieve our targets and we will still have a really competitive team,” said the former Arsenal legend.
“The players will take more responsibilities on their shoulders and that will make them better players.
“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.”
Corinthians are understood to have made a bid in the region of £40 million for Tevez, who played for the Brazilian team before spells at first West Ham and then Manchester United.