West Ham turns down chance to re-sign Tevez for £250K per week

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Outrageous demands stood in the way of a reunion between West Ham United and Carlos Tevez.

In conversation with Kieran Gill of the Daily Mail, David Sullivan, West Ham's co-chairman, detailed how the Hammers turned down the opportunity to re-sign Tevez because the Argentinian forward asked for a contract of £250,000 per week, which would have made him the highest-paid player in the club's history.

"All this business, 'I love West Ham,' well it's 'I love West Ham if they give me £250,000 a week,'" Sullivan said. "So how much love is that for West Ham? I actually offered him £150,000 a week to come back plus bonuses. I thought that was an incredible offer for someone who loves West Ham. And it was a huge gamble for us because he's 33 now and hasn't done it in South America.

"We tried to get Tevez but he wanted £250,000 a week - and is he past his best? He hasn't set the world alight in South America. In his last year at Juventus he was great. But £250,000 a week? He'll probably stay where he is now, but he doesn't pay a lot of tax down there.

"It wasn't a publicity stunt, I saw him being our No. 1 striker. I was hoping he would reproduce what he did at Juventus a year ago. He was a fantastic player. But where do you draw the line with what you are prepared to pay?"

Tevez returned to Boca Juniors, his boyhood club, last year and received a god-like homecoming. Upon being presented in front of 40,000 supporters at La Bombonera including Diego Maradona, he proclaimed: "Money doesn't buy happiness."

West Ham's supporters love Tevez, as he scored seven goals in the Hammers' final 10 fixtures of the 2006-07 Premier League season to save the club from relegation in heroic fashion.