Corinthians balk at £49m asking price to re-sign Tevez

Manchester City were last night heading towards a rejection of Corinthians' improbable €40m (£35.3m) bid for Carlos Tevez, with comments from a director of the Brazilian club heightening anxieties that they will simply not be able to pay for the striker.

City were in talks to discuss the offer last night but the vice-director of football at Corinthians, Duilio Alves, had said from the outset that the price being asked for Tevez was "an absurd figure, unviable for the Brazilian football market" and suggested a loan deal. City, who feel that the financing of any such transfer would be complicated, are highly likely to dismiss out of hand the idea of a loan. There is also uncertainty at City about whether the bid is entirely Corinthians', or rather that of Tevez's representative Kia Joorabchian, who once owned the club.

Corinthians' president compounded the feeling that this was an unrealistic proposition when he said last night that Tevez had accepted a four-year deal but that the deal was dead if not concluded by Sunday. "If City want €50m (£44m) then he will stay in England. We are not going to improve the offer," said president Andres Sanchez. "The offer is made. But between the offer and him coming, there is a distance."

Alves told the respected Lancenet agency the price was too high. "It would have to be a loan. We cannot buy him," Alves added. "His intention exists. If one day it is possible, Corinthians are interested. It is not impossible. We are going to try to discover all the details. It is a dream we are trying to make true. He is interested in returning, everybody knows that. For that to come true, it is distant. But we are going after him and we have initiated talks."

The statement Tevez's representatives issued last week, outlining his desire to leave, has prompted City to search for a replacement and as discussions with a leading agency took place late last week, Atletico Madrid's Sergio Aguero emerged as a target. But there have been no moves for the 23-year-old Argentine. Aguero wants to stay in Madrid, making Real Madrid the favourites for his signature and, with the Copa America intervening, the prospect of his future being resolved before the end of the summer is unlikely.

City, who believe that Samir Nasri will stay at Arsenal, have also fined Emmanuel Adebayor two weeks' wages but that did not persuade him to break his effective "strike" action and train yesterday.

Time is not on Corinthians' side with the Tevez deal: the club know they have until 20 July to wrap up a deal for the player, as the Brazilian transfer window closes that day. The notion of anyone in Brazil matching Tevez's £250,000-a-week salary at City was dismissed as ridiculous by sources in the country yesterday but the Corinthians move is not entirely far-fetched. There is a mass of money washing around Brazilian football presently because of the huge shirt sponsorship deals, which have seen the sponsors paying players to return from Europe.

Ronaldinho went to Flamengo from Milan on a salary believed to be £100,000 a week, which is mostly paid for by the sports marketing agency Traffic, the kit manufacturer Olympikas and the food manufacturer Batavo. The huge prescription drugs firm Unimed enabled Fluminese to bring Fred back from Lyons, and Juliano Belletti and Deco from Chelsea.

At Corinthians, Tevez's reduced wages would be paid for by Neo Quimica, a pharmaceutical giant. Tevez's team-mates would include the one-time Portugal striker Liedson, signed from Sporting Lisbon, who is 33 but still earning £40,000-a-week. But most of the new arrivals are past their peak and there are also question marks about claims that a TV rights deal worth as much as £50m to Corinthians are accurate.

"Brazil's biggest clubs are taking full advantage," said Rupert Fryer, editor of Southamericanfootball.co.uk. "Thanks to the increasing professionalism of their internal marketing departments, clubs across the country are funding their growing wage budgets through numerous wealthy sponsors."

* Internazionale's technical director, Marco Branca, has insisted that Wesley Sneijder, the £35m-rated Manchester United target is not for sale. "There is nothing to update," said Branca of the midfielder yesterday. "We have received no formal offer, nor do we intend to wait for one. There are no meetings planned with his agent. He is not for sale."