Football
Michael Church, Asia correspondent 7y

Shanghai Shenhua's Carlos Tevez defends visit to Disneyland

Carlos Tevez has defended his decision to visit Disneyland after injury ruled him out of Shanghai Shenhua's visit to Changchun Yatai in the Chinese Super League last weekend.

Tevez, who suffered a calf injury in training, was photographed with his family at the theme park as Gus Poyet's team were travelling to Jilin province for the game, which they won 3-2 thanks to a late goal from Giovani Moreno.

"I heard about reports of [criticism of] my visit to Disneyland with my family," he told the Chinese media. "It was my day off. I went to Disneyland after training. I am just a normal person, and it is normal to have quality time with my family.

"I train with a serious attitude, and when I am having time off I hope to be respected as well. I hope [the media reporting on my private life] won't happen again."

Tevez has struggled for form since moving to China from Boca Juniors for €11 million in January, scoring on his CSL debut against Jiangsu Suning but failing to find the back of the net since.

Boca president Daniel Angelici said he is planning to travel to China to meet with Tevez in August with intentions to take the 33-year-old back to Buenos Aires.

But the former Manchester United and Juventus striker claims he is happy to remain with his current employers.

"He is a decision maker of the club, and it is normal that he wants me back," Tevez said of Angelici. "But my family and I really like the life in Shanghai.

"I've been here for two months. Me and my family are very fond of this place, it is a beautiful city. We have been living a happy life here. I need to settle into the CSL as soon as possible in order to have better performances on the pitch."

Tevez will miss Shenhua's trip to face Guizhou Zhicheng as he continues his recovery from injury.

"I have a calf muscle pull and the doctor gave it one month to recover," he said. "As a professional player I am coordinating my best efforts with our team doctor and looking forward to being back in the team as soon as possible.

"I haven't fully settled in, I need more time and more matches to have the best condition."

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