Tevez: I want to play football

Manchester United ace Carlos Tevez has admitted that he is upset by the fact that he does not play regular first team football.

The Argentine dynamo starred for United last season, but following the arrival of Dimitar Berbatov at Old Trafford, Tevez has subsequently found himself relegated to the bench far more often than he would like.

Argentina national team coach Diego Maradona recently commented that "Carlos Tevez should sit on the bench for no one", and with Berbatov, Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo all ahead of Tevez in United boss Sir Alex Ferguson's pecking order, the 25-year-old is at a loss to explain just why he is being shunned.

"I am not going to comment on Maradona," Tevez told the Daily Mail newspaper ahead of Saturday's Premier League clash with Blackburn Rovers.

"If that is his opinion, then fair enough. I can only comment on my feelings and, like any player, I don't ever want to sit on the bench. I want to play, always.

"Last season I played. Last season I was the second top scorer at the club and last season we won the Champions League and the Premier League. And everyone said I was playing well.

"But this season I have been benched and I find that hard to understand when I am not playing badly. I realise another player has arrived and I realise that this is why I am sometimes not in the team.

"But I have not been dropped because I have done anything wrong and that is what is difficult.

"I will continue to fight. It is in my nature to fight and I will continue to try and make the best of every opportunity I do get in the hope that I will not be benched again.'

Speculation is rife that Tevez may leave United if he is not offered a permanent deal once his two-year loan deal end at the end of the current season.

With the striker expected to command a figure in the region of 20million pounds, several leading clubs are expected to join the race to capture his services should United not be able to convince Tevez that he has a future with the reigning English and European champions

However, Tevez was also at pains to point out that a move away from Manchester would only come about if he felt it was right for both him and his family.

"From my point of view, you don't make a decision just because you are sitting on the bench," he said.

"Even if I would like to think I am good enough to play for any team in the world.

"You have to analyse the whole situation, the whole experience of being at a football club, of living in a city. I have to reflect on how I feel about living in Manchester. I have to ask if my family are happy here.

‘Obviously, I want first-team football. But I have to consider all the issues. I have to consider the whole experience of being at the club before I even begin to make a decision.

‘Right now, it is only my intention to give everything, in every game. For the shirt of Manchester I will always give 100 per cent and for the fans of Manchester I will always give 100 per cent. They have been very good to me. They have taken me into their hearts."