The Carlos Tevez conundrum has continued in the firing of the latest in a series of parting shots at Manchester United and Sir Alex Ferguson.

Tevez’s latest complaint is his omission from United's starting line-up in the Champions League Final they lost to Barcelona in May. "You cannot argue with Alex Ferguson," said the striker who is free to join who he wants from July 1. "He is like the president of England. It is impossible, you always lose.

"But he made a mistake to leave me on the bench. That was the only final the team had lost since I had been at Manchester United." He may believe he has a case, though in fact United actually only won the other two finals in which Tevez featured on penalties. And United's problem in Rome was not a lack of forward players, it was a lack of midfield quality. Tevez could perhaps have replaced one of close pal Ji-Sung Park or Ryan Giggs yet it was the onslaught of Xavi and Iniesta’s passing that proved United’s undoing.

Tevez is endangering his residual popularity among the Old Trafford faithful with such words and those of his agent, the ever shadowy Kia Joorabchian.

The British-Iranian businessman followed United's confirmation of Tevez's exit by arguing that United had taken too long to offer him a deal and then, having offered the Argentine an acceptable deal, not given him enough time to decide.

Popular as he may once have been among a sizeable section of fans, bridges have now been burned and despite Tevez's repeated playing of the populist card - applauding the fans, slagging off the signing of Dimitar Berbatov - there are those that consider United are best off without the Argentinian. He was never quite as destructive a scurrier as Wayne Rooney and nor does he possess the effortless class of his languid Bulgarian nemesis.

Tevez, if reports that he has settled his young daughter in a Cheshire school are correct, looks most likely to cross the great Mancunian divide to join City and their growing phalanx of strikers.

The populist card was also played by Joorabchian in stating that "Carlitos" would never join Liverpool because of his affinity with United fans. The accepted opinion that Liverpool do not have the money to buy him, as backed up by Fernando Torres on Monday, seems to have been conveniently skirted over.

That City are genuine deep-seated rivals of United, and have been for far longer than Liverpool, obviously escaped Joorabchian. Should City become a true challenger to United's pre-eminence and Tevez is at the vanguard of that, then he can hardly expect United fans to remain well disposed to him. Despite some vital goals over his two Old Trafford seasons, including a decider against City in May, Tevez will never be a Denis Law, forgiven for a crime against United while in a City shirt. For all his supposed connection with the Stretford End, they are now unlikely to greet him like a long lost brother.

One of the given reasons for Tevez’s turning down of United’s final offer was that he felt he should be guaranteed a first-team place, a claim hardly backed up by some mediocre performances during 2008-9. Such demands clearly do not sit well with Ferguson, for whom decisions are his and his alone.

Meanwhile, City have composed a list of strikers that thus far contains Craig Bellamy, Roque Santa Cruz, Robinho, Jo, Felipe Caicedo, Valeri Bojinov, Darius Vassell and Ched Evans even before Samuel Eto’o arrives or otherwise. Should the Cameroon striker arrive, a possibility currently lost in the chicanery of agent-speak and Barcelona’s ability to buy a replacement, then Tevez will surely be fighting for the other striking place. Chelsea, the other club linked in Joorabchian’s exit statement would surely provide a similar level of competition for places.

Tevez’s time in English football has been marked by continual controversy. The rank tedium of the farrago surrounding his leading participation in West Ham’s escape from relegation in 2006-7 need not be entered into again, for fear of inducing slumber. While not as sensational, the protraction of his contract negotiations, or lack thereof, made headlines throughout his two-year United career.

That time at United coincided with a period of huge success at Old Trafford. Two league titles and a Champions League win followed by an appearance in the following year's final, as well as a Carling Cup and World Club Cup is quite some haul. A success then, yet one qualified by the trouble and intrigue that has surrounded him ever since his arrival at United amid serious doubts over his ability to justify the £25m levy placed on his talents by the MSI third-party group.

With Cristiano Ronaldo and Tevez gone, it may be time to reassert that Ferguson’s is the only ego at Old Trafford that really matters. Antonio Valencia’s imminent arrival looks to be happening with the minimum of fanfare, the way Ferguson likes it.

Tevez, whatever his beef with United and their manager over the ending of an association, would do himself and his legacy more credit if he held his tongue and chose instead to savour the good times.