BUENOS AIRES, May 18 - Argentina forward Carlos
Tevez said on Friday his priority was to stay with West Ham
United although he also dreamed of playing for a big European
club.
"The West Ham supporters were incredible to me, I will never
forget it, and so West Ham will always have priority," said
Tevez, a key figure as the London club escaped relegation from
the Premier League last weekend.
"But, if they are going to sell me, yes, I would like to
play for a big European club," he told reporters.
West Ham, who had a poor season until the run-in when they
won seven of their last nine games, escaped the drop after a
Tevez goal gave them a dramatic final day 1-0 win away to
champions Manchester United.
But the signing of Tevez and compatriot Javier Mascherano,
who moved to Liverpool in January, also created controversy.
West Ham were fined a record 5.5 million pounds ($10.88
million) last month by an independent Premier League commission
which ruled that the players' contracts drawn up at their August
transfer contravened league rules by giving certain rights to
third-party companies.
West Ham admitted the charge and escaped a points deduction
that would have almost certainly condemned them to relegation.
Wigan Athletic, who survived the drop, and Sheffield United,
who went down, are at the head of a group of clubs threatening
to challenge the Premier League in the courts over its decision
not to dock West Ham points.
FIFA president Sepp Blatter said that soccer's governing
body would investigate the case.
Meanwhile, Tevez says he is hoping to be picked by Argentina
coach Alfio Basile for the Copa America from June 26 to July 15.