West Ham United co-owner David Sullivan, has revealed that former striker Carlos Tevez, snubbed a return, as the club refused his wage demands.
Heroic return
The Hammers was the Argentine's first English club, and won the hearts of many with his seven goals turning out crucial in the club's survival in the 2006/07 season.
Tevez went on to have a illustrious career, playing for Manchester United, Manchester City, Juventus and current club Boca Juniors.
It is clear to many that Slaven Bilic has been looking for an elite striker this summer window, Tevez was one of the numerous names linked, but Sullivan revealed the wages were the sticking point.
He said "we tried to get Tevez" but "he wanted £250,000 a week" and believes that "he’ll probably stay where he is now" as he "doesn't pay a lot of tax down there."
Sullivan revealed "I actually offered him 150 grand a week to come back plus bonuses" which he believes is a "incredible offer for someone who loves West Ham" and wasn't a "publicity stunt" as "I saw him being our No.1 striker."
He concluded “I was hoping he would reproduce what he did at Juventus a year ago" but pondered the question "where do you draw the line with what you are prepared to pay?”
Taking the positives
The first-team are currently away on tour in the US, however suffered a setback in their first game against the Seattle Sounders.
Goals from Herculez Gomez and Jordan Morris saw them suffer a 3-0 defeat, but Bilic took positives from the defeat.
He told whufc.com "a game is a game and in every game the result is important" but the side "only started training a few days ago and we are in the process of hard training" and the "most important thing was to get through without anyone being injured and make it a good training."
Bilic continued: “Nobody got injured, so in that regard I am quite pleased" and concluded that "it was a good training exercise and we will gain fitness from this game.”
West Ham United will take on the Carolina RailHawks at the WakeMed Soccer Park on Wednesday, July 13 with kick-off at 1am BST.