Man City fans, you can all thank Maradona for Tevez’s return

It wasn’t Roberto Mancini, Kia Joorabchian or any Man City players that were responsible for Carlos Tevez’s return to Manchester City. No, it was Diego Maradona.

Tevez was back in the City colours on Wednesday night and played a crucial role in the win over Chelsea at the Etihad, laying on the winner for Samir Nasri with the deftest of touches only minutes from time.

In that moment, it was if everything that had gone before – the refusal to play against Bayern Munich, the exile in Argentina, the ridiculous claims that he had been treated like a dog – had been all but forgotten by Mancini and the City fans and will be banished from the memory for good if the moody Argentine can help City wrestle the Premier League title from their bitter Manchester rivals.

At one stage, it looked as if Tevez would never play for City again, but according to Diego Maradona, it was a few of his wise words in Tevez’s direction that convinced him to return.

"I told Tevez three months ago that he had to talk with Mancini as soon as possible," Maradona revealed.

"I said that because he was losing money - but also because he needed to play football again. I told Tevez, 'you must go back now'."

Tevez and Maradona are believed to be close – they both hail from Buenos Aires and both are inextricably linked to Boca Juniors – but the fact that Tevez appeared to be hooring himself out to any club that would take him in the January transfer window would seem to contradict Maradona’s claims that his sage advice was responsible for Tevez's City comeback.

Knowing the way Tevez is, City might have to ask Maradona to have a word again during the summer when their prodigal son's wanderlust returns.