THERE are no regrets in the voice of Carlos Tevez and not a hint of remorse.
Surrounded by friends and family at his magnificent home in Buenos Aires, Manchester City's skipper is doing some straight talking.
Away from the 10ft high security walls and guards on walkie-talkies patrolling the perimeter, the man from the mean streets of Fuerte Apache is opening up.
From rucks with Roberto Mancini, his contempt for chief executive Garry Cook and soothing calls with Sheikh Mansour.
Nothing is off limits.
City offered Tevez a new deal worth £250,000 a week after the FA Cup Final and one of the game's great talents is ready to stay.
He said: "Sheikh Mansour has made a lot of sacrifices to keep me and if I stay at City, it will be for him.
Tevez.... in his Buenos Aires home Tevez.... in his Buenos Aires home "He signed me, he wants to keep me but, at the same time, he has told me to do whatever I need to do to be happy.
"He has told me, 'If you want to leave, then you can go'. There is no deadline - it's down to me.
"They offered me a new contract in December but I didn't want to extend it.
"At the end of the season they offered me another new deal but at the moment I don't know whether I will accept it.
"There are options but if I don't play for Real Madrid, Barcelona, Inter or Milan it won't be a massive void in my life.
"There are no other issues - Manchester is my second home."
Tevez moved out of his rented Cheshire home this week... but only into another, more palatial property less than five miles away.
Yet despite extending his English roots, the memory of the time he nearly quit the North-West last December - stunning City with a transfer request the night they went top of the Premier League - still remains.
The recriminations ran deep and the atmosphere inside Tevez's house takes a turn when he talks about that remarkable evening.
I have principles and I will never speak with them - never
The City skipper, 27, said: "I have no regrets whatsoever about my transfer request.
"It was a situation that some people [Cook] on the board created. They promised something for six months and didn't deliver.
"So, after six months of promises, they don't do something - why should I believe them now? I don't.
"I will never speak to these people [Cook] again. I still feel the same way.
"I have principles and I will never speak with them - never.
"They have tried to speak with me but I will never talk with them. There is no way, it is not possible.
"I deal direct with Sheikh Mansour, no one else. It makes no difference to my future, as they [Cook] don't mean anything to me.
"I won't have a relationship with them. They live in a different world.
"I stayed in December because of my relationship with the supporters. They respect me.
"The fans always tell me to stay. I have no problem with them - they are always very respectful."
They worship Tevez at the City of Manchester Stadium, saluting their hero as they hurtle towards the Champions League. He is proud of the captaincy - "a great honour and privilege" - but the goals mean even more.
Mancini and I have arguments and moments but it's not such a great matter to me. He's a great manager
Tevez grabbed 20 in the Premier League last season and was joint top scorer with Manchester United's Dimitar Berbatov.
Relations with the manager have even improved, with Tevez finally striking an understanding with Mancini after an explosive start.
They grappled in the dressing room at half-time against Newcastle last October and clashed again when he was substituted in the final minutes of their victory over Bolton.
Tevez added: "Mancini and I have arguments and moments but it's not such a great matter to me. He's a great manager.
"Things happen in the heat of the moment, silly things that can happen when we are trying to do what's best for the team.
"We are not friends but we have a professional relationship. As captain and manager, we talk. I have never been late, I am disciplined and I've never been fined for a breach of club discipline.
"I respect the rules. If I am told to wear a shirt and tie, then that's what I will do.
"I don't know if Mancini creates tension in the team on purpose, maybe it's just his way to get the best out of the players.
"People will always argue at this club. We are under the spotlight now and we have to learn to deal with it.
"We have a lot of players, a big squad and everyone wants to know what is happening at City."
They also want to know what's happening with one of the world's best talents.
Back in Buenos Aires, he's enjoying family life again, spending special times with his young daughters Florencia and Katia.
The extended family were over on Friday to witness their baptism, celebrating the occasion inside an enormous marquee erected in the grounds of Tevez's home.
He misses his daughters during the season, torn apart by the trans-Atlantic flight that separates Buenos Aires and the biting winter weather in Manchester.
The Argentina striker feels misunderstood. He is away from his family for long periods and only spends time with them every two to three months.
People think I should be happy because I have everything but I can't buy time with my daughters and my family
"Papa" adores his children, at times breaking off the interview to devote some attention to them and put them at ease again.
They stay with their mother Vanessa at the family home on the outskirts of Buenos Aires during the season, talking to Tevez in Cheshire each day via video link.
He added: "No amount of money, no cars and the lifestyle can make up for the moment when I leave my two daughters at the airport.
"Do you think money solves everything? It solves nothing.
"People think I should be happy because I have everything but I can't buy time with my daughters and my family.
"The way people live in Argentina is very different to the culture in England and Europe.
"I am very emotional as a person. I can get very upset when I'm without my children and I find it difficult to be without them.
"It's not easy to live in Manchester and for my children to be in Buenos Aires."
At times he seriously considered quitting the game, packing it up for good to be back at home with his family.
Unless you have children you will never understand what it's like to be away from them
He insists there is "only three years left in Europe", just enough time to win some more major honours before he returns to Buenos Aires.
That's as much as this Champions League winner with Manchester United can take, convinced he will finish his career with Boca Juniors when he is 31.
Tevez added: "Last December, I really thought about quitting football - I was serious.
"Unless you have children you will never understand what it's like to be away from them.
"They are growing up so fast, thousands of miles away, and I'm not there to see it.
"It's hard to come home after a game to an empty house, when I'm upset or nervous, to be without them.
"When Katia injured her hand in February, I wasn't around to protect them. Those are the moments when I realise how much my family means to me.
"That's why I will be done with Europe in three years. It's a huge effort mentally to do it but, at 31, I will be finished in Europe.
"The pressure isn't the issue but I miss my family and my home life in Argentina too much to be away from them."
He has spent two years at City, establishing himself as one of the world's best strikers after quitting Old Trafford.
He swapped life on the substitutes' bench under Sir Alex Ferguson to fight another cause, buying into the £300m project under Sheikh Mansour.
If he stays, as seems likely, Tevez is convinced City will fight United for the title on an equal footing next season.
He will miss the Community Shield at Wembley on August 7, having been given three weeks off by City after the Copa America with Argentina.
Then he's likely to be back in business in City's laser blue shirts, setting his sights high in the Premier League and Champions League.
Tevez added: "I don't miss Old Trafford because I'm a City player.
"The players, the stadium and the manager don't matter any more because I'm happy at City - this is me.
"Everything at City is being built to be successful. We have the makings of a great team and we are heading in the right direction.
Pride... Tevez with his daughter Pride... Tevez with his daughter
"United have developed over a long period of time but we have to be patient because every year we bring in four or five new players.
"Next season we can challenge United in the Premier League but the Champions League will be different.
"No one can touch Barcelona, that's the conclusion from the Champions League Final. They are unique and at the moment there isn't a way to beat them.
"We can't compete with them at the moment because no one has found a way of playing them yet. There's no way we can do it at the moment. To compete with a team like that takes time."
He has other challenges this summer, devoting energy and direction to the Carlos Tevez Foundation.
The Argentina forward is proud of his roots, though he escaped the clutches of Fuerte Apache to go on to become one of the world's leading strikers.
He is spending time back in Buenos Aires to set up the CTF, a nationwide programme to help fund under-privileged kids.
Tevez added: "Around 18 months ago, I had the idea for the Foundation but it has taken time to organise it.
"My goals are to help children, not just in Fuerte Apache, but across Argentina with education, support, sport and food.
"It's my project 100 per cent and I'm going to direct it. The decisions will all be mine."
When it comes to the big decision on where his future lies, Tevez has already made it clear it will be down to him.
