Football
ESPN staff 8y

Antonio Conte called me to go to Chelsea - Carlos Tevez

Argentina forward Carlos Tevez revealed that new Chelsea boss Antonio Conte tried to convince him to join the London club.

Tevez, 32, has been pondering retirement from the game after Boca Juniors were ousted from the Copa Libertadores semifinals by Independiente del Valle a fortnight ago, but has since decided to continue playing for the club.

He has had offers from a couple of clubs including West Ham United, Brazilian team Corinthians, and also Chelsea.

The former Juventus forward received a call from Conte, but rejected the former Italy coach's advances, electing to stay in Argentina.

"After the loss [to Independiente] we had two days off. I was shaken, like everyone at home. I returned to training and I said 'That's it, it's passed'," Tevez told Radio La Red.

"But I was without any motivation. At that moment I thought about a lot of things, even to leave football. It was leave football or continue at Boca.

"One day later Conte called me to go to Chelsea, and I told him no. I wasn't in a good way, and I had to think about a lot of things. It was Boca or retire.

"You realise a lot of things, like family. Since I've come to Boca I live for the club. When you can't reach your objective you rethink a lot of things.

"I had to sit back and look at the big picture, and look ahead and see if I had the will to keep playing or not."

Tevez's rejection of Conte's offer means that he is likely to end his career with Boca, having played for three Premier League clubs, West Ham, Manchester United and Manchester City, where he scored a total of 84 goals in 202 games.

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