Carlos Tevez’s arrival at Manchester United to link up with Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney was like discovering a ‘cheat code’.
That is according to former Aston Villa striker Gabby Agbonlahor, who was bowled over by the former Premier League star.
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Tevez joined United on a two-year loan in 2007 after an impressive season at West Ham where he guided them to Premier League safety.
During his stay at Old Trafford, the 39-year-old, who later signed for United’s rivals Manchester City, was part of arguably the greatest front three in Premier League history.
Playing up top alongside Ronaldo and Rooney, the trio inspired United to Premier League and Champions League glory in their first season together.
And in their second and last campaign with each other, they scooped another top-flight title, along with the League Cup, Club World Cup and Community Shield.
In the 2007/08 term, the trio scored a combined 79 goals, while they added a further 61 goals together the following season.
And Gabby joked it was hard for those who had to play against them.
“I was just like, ‘you can’t have Ronaldo, Rooney and Tevez, come on, it’s a cheat code!’
“He’s a menace when you watched him, [he was] underrated, quick, sharp and had a low centre of gravity.
“He could score every sort of goal, would press the life out of centre-halves.
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“He was one of the ones that was like, ‘oh damn it, he’s signed for them’.”
Tevez then did the unthinkable in the eyes of United fans by joining City in 2009, where he helped the Citizens win the FA Cup in 2010, before the Premier League in 2012.
It was a similar feeling for Gabby when he linked up with his new teammates.
“I was like, ‘you can’t have [David] Silva, [Samir] Nasri, Tevez, [Sergio] Aguero!”
With Tevez, City won their first league championship in 44 years and earned legendary status at The Etihad.
Carew made me happy to be a Villa player
“I was delighted when we signed John Carew [from Lyon in 2007]. An outstanding player and someone I used to watch playing for Valencia.
“I remember thinking, ‘who is this giant? How can a giant be quick as well?’ He’s so tall, so strong, had a bullet shot, and I was thinking, ‘he’s coming to Villa, wow! He’s coming to Aston Villa.’
“I was excited, and then we had a great partnership.
“He was so good in the air, so good at holding the ball up, he had a bullet shot on him and he was quick.
“I was just sad that we signed him when we did. I wish I had longer with him when he was younger.”
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Youri the man… now
“The thing with Youri Tielemans, when I saw he’d signed I was a bit shocked, because I put Tielemans in my flop of the season, because he did have a poor one.
“And I think if he’s honest, he would say that himself, [because of] the standards he set at Leicester previously and for Belgium.
“I’m hoping Aston Villa have signed the Tielemans from previous seasons, not last season.
“We know there’s a quality player in there, he’s going to have competition in the midfield at Aston Villa.
“But, he’s got to break into the team, because the team that finished the season is unchangeable for me, but being in Europe now, you need numbers.”
