Tevez: I would not speak English due to Falklands

Carlos Tevez has revealed he refused to learn to speak English during his time in the Premier League as he blamed the country for his uncle’s alcoholism after fighting in the Falklands War.

The former West Ham, Manchester United and Manchester City forward, speaking on D Sports Radio in Argentina, said he had a “cultural problem with the English”. The 39-year-old was so resolute in his refusal to speak English that he even told team-mates they would have to learn Spanish to converse with him.

Britain went to war with Argentina in 1982 following the latter’s invasion of the Falklands. The conflict cost 255 British and 649 Argentine lives.

“I had a cultural problem with the English,” Tevez said. “I didn’t want to learn English, I wanted them to learn Spanish.

“I have an uncle who played in River Plate. He’s the only River supporter in my family. He played in the reserve team and when he was going to make his debut with the first team, he got called up to fight in the Falklands War. He suffered after that and became an alcoholic. That marked me a lot because he was very close to me.”

Tevez spent seven years in the Premier League, winning two titles with United and one at City before joining Juventus in 2013.

“I’m here for work but I’m not getting used to English culture,” he said. “You want to speak to me, then you learn Spanish because I’m not going to learn English. Very few people know this story but today I can tell it.”

It is not the first time that Tevez voiced his displeasure at living in England. Manchester “has nothing” and is “very expensive”, he said back in 2011, adding: “I’m never going back to Manchester, not even on holiday, not for anything.”

Tevez left United for rivals City in 2009 and compatriot Pablo Zabaleta said he tried to get him to speak English while at the club. “Carlos tries sometimes to speak English,” Zabaleta said in 2009. “I said to him he needs to come to me for lessons. It’s important because we need to speak with team-mates and managers.”