Tevez reveals how close he came to signing for Atletico Madrid

In an interview with Marca, Carlos Tevez has revealed how a conversation with Diego Simeone left him on the cusp of joining Atletico with the door wide open for the Argentinian to walk into the Vicente Calderon.

As it turned out, Tevez, who had spent nine years in Europe since arriving in London to play for West Ham in 2006, was keen to return to his home country as he signed for Boca Juniors in the summer of 2015. However, Tevez explained how excited he was at the prospect of teaming up with Simeone:

"I called Cholo and I was very excited. It's also on my record that I haven't played in Spain. I would have played for two years in Spain, and I knew Atletico were fighting for the League and the Champions League. In the last year the only offer I had from Spain was from Atletico. Real Madrid were interested before."

Tevez spent seven years in England in total, starting off at West Ham before moving to Manchester United and two years later making the short trip across Manchester to play for Manchester City. A stint in Italy with Juventus would prove to be his swansong in European action, however.

Tevez, who was 31 last summer when the option to move to Atletico arose might have been the kind of striker Simeone has been searching for all year. His ability to find space and score an array of goals while also setting up his teammates could have proved vital in Atletico's La Liga and Champions League tilt this season.

Tevez started, and looks like he will finish, his career at Boca Juniors in Buenos Aires.