Joining Man City was a revenge - Carlos Tevez reveals how a broken promise from Alex Ferguson led to his Man.U exit

Former Manchester United forward Carlos Tevez has claimed Sir Alex Ferguson broke a promise to him before he left the club to join arch rivals Manchester City, and that the fallout of his move had made him 'want to kill' Gary Neville.

Tevez infamously made the switch from United, where he was on loan, to City in 2009. He would go on to win the Premier League for a third time, and hold a banner reading 'RIP Fergie' during the 2012 title celebrations.

Appearing on the Rio Ferdinand Presents channel, Tevez explained the background of his exit: 'They spoke to me (before) the two-year loan. After, if you play well, (we) pay the contract after one year. Fergie told me, “Carlos, now I'm going to pay out your contract and you're going to stay in Manchester". The team went to a pre-season. I remember this conversation with Fergie.

He said “I’m going to pay for Berbatov but you, don't worry, I'm going to buy you and we'll do your contract.'

That didn't transpire, and United refused to pay the fee that would have his deal made permanent, leaving him to stay for another year before departing.

Tevez stated: 'For me, the people understand. They don’t understand about Fergie speaking to me, or behind the scenes. What happened between Fergie and me, I think people don't understand that.'

He added: 'I think that Ferguson had, from the day we talked, up to six months to keep his word. And he didn't. On the contrary, he started leaving me on the bench. In my head, he started pushing me aside so he could bring down what I was worth. And that's what hurt me the most.'

The move across town ruffled feathers, with Tevez noting that former team-mate Gary Neville was especially critical in the press.

When Ferdinand recalled asking if Tevez 'wanted to kill Gary Neville', Tevez agreed that he had 'wanted to fight'.

Ferdinand recalled seeing Tevez's anger at the defender 'in his eyes' after believing that Neville had been 'speaking too much' about his former team-mate's departure.

Tevez added regarding Neville: 'Gary, he said that I didn't respect Ferguson. He didn't understand me. He didn't understand the situation.'

Reflecting on his departure, Tevez noted: 'For me it was hard, Rio. It was hard because I felt like I'd given my heart to United. And I didn't feel the same. I didn't feel the same because, if you remember, we won the Champions League. We won the league and, and then, to bring down my price, they brought in a player and I carried on the same way for the first months. The second months, let's say, of the second year. But by the second, the second month, I didn't want to know any more.'

He concluded: 'I had a great time at United. The other team, City, for me, was like a revenge. I didn't get back what I [gave].'