Tevez wants to leave Man City

London - Manchester City captain Carlos Tevez wants to leave the Premier League club for personal reasons, the Argentine said in a statement to British media on Monday.

Tevez, who joined City from arch-rivals Manchester United in 2009, had said in December he wanted to quit City, before withdrawing his transfer request a few days later.

"It is with great regret that I have to inform Manchester City of my wish to leave the club," the striker said in Monday's statement.

"I would like to state that I have great respect for the club, its supporters and the owner Sheikh Mansoor, who has been nothing other than respectful to me.

"I hope that the people understand the difficult circumstances I have been living under the past 12 months, in regards to my family.

"Living without my children in Manchester has been incredibly challenging for me. Everything I do, I do for my daughters, Katie and Florencia. I need to be closer to them and to spend more time with them."

The 27-year-old Tevez has three years left on his contract with City. His family are living in South America.

Tevez started his career with Argentina's Boca Juniors and moved to Brazil with Corinthians in 2004.

He joined England's West Ham United in 2006 and helped the London club to avoid relegation before moving to Manchester United.

He won two Premier League winners' medals with United and played in the side which won the Champions League final in 2008 before controversially joining City a year later.

Tevez, joint top scorer in the Premier League last season with 20 goals as City finished third, has been linked with clubs in Italy and Spain.