‘Carlos Tevez moving to Brazil could convince other players to stay instead of leaving for Europe’ – former Middlesbrough star Juninho

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EXCLUSIVE
By Rob Stewart

Brazilian World Cup-winner Juninho has admitted that he is hoping that Corinthians can tie up a deal for Manchester City skipper Carlos Tevez – for the sake of the game in his football-crazy country ahead of the 2014 Fifa World Cup finals.

The former Atletico Madrid and Middlesbrough midfielder has predicted that Tevez would provide not only Corinthians with a major boost but would benefit Brazilian football as a whole if the Argentine returns to Juninho’s homeland, which is preparing to stage the next World Cup.

In an exclusive interview with Goal.com, Juninho said: “It will be great for Corinthians if Carlito does come back to the club but also for Brazilian football in general, so I hope he returns.

“He was a real hero at Corinthians when he was here before – the fans worshipped him. They will be very happy. Okay, none of the fans of the other rivals clubs will be happy if he comes back but for me it is good for the game in Brazil and that is most important.

“It would be good to have him back because Carlito is such a fine player. He is one of the best players in Europe too and he will make the league even more competitive and there will be a lot of interest in him from the fans, so that can only help the game.”

Juninho, who began his distinguished career with Sao Paulo, spoke out as Corinthians’ £39 million bid to sign Tevez appeared to hang in the balance.

Manager Roberto Mancini had claimed a fee had been agreed, but the Brazilian club denied this and said that City had instead submitted a counter-proposal. Tevez is desperate to leave City as he wants to be closer to his children.

Welcome back | Juninho believes Tevez would be a huge boost for Brazilian football

“I do not know where Corinthians are getting the money from because it is a lot of money for any football club but I really hope they can bring Carlito back because he is a player I always enjoy watching,” Juninho added.

“Our economy is growing and there is a lot of money being invested in Brazilian football at the moment because we are moving towards the World Cup finals and this just shows how strong football is becoming here.

“There are six or seven clubs in Brazil that could challenge for the title so that shows that the game is very healthy here and getting someone like Carlito back can only make things even better.

“It is always a shame when players want to come back because they are unhappy but this feels different because Corinthians want Carlito very badly and are prepared to pay a lot of money to sign him.

“Corinthians have massive support – a bit like Manchester United in England – and Carlito helped them win the league when he was here before. It will be good for them if he comes back.

“I always like to see quality players like him in the Brazilian league because so many players leave for Europe because that is where the most powerful clubs with the most money are and they have the Champions League, which is great.

“If Corinthians get Carlito this will show that things are changing. It shows strength. Those players that want to go to Spain or Portugal or Russia might now want to stay and that can only be good for my country.”

The 38-year-old Juninho, who is now in charge of Brazilian club Ituano, helped his nation win the 2002 World Cup and is hoping that the return of Tevez would increase his country’s chances of winning the tournament again in three years’ time.

“It was disappointing that we did not do better at the World Cup in South Africa and everyone was sad when we went out against Holland but now everyone is really looking forward to 2014 because people here are so passionate about football,” Juninho said.

“There is still a long way to go but having Tevez around would be a good thing. It would make the Brazilian league stronger. There are a lot of very good players in Brazil but with him the standard would be higher. That can only be good. It would be good for the clubs and our national team. It shows we are going in the right direction.”

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