Stoke City's Danny Pugh (left) challenges Manchester City's James Milner during their English Premier League match in Manchester, northern England, on Tuesday. Carlos Tevez scored twice as City won the match 3-0. Nigel Roddis / Reuters

MANCHESTER, England - Carlos Tevez is set to stay at Manchester City, according to manager Roberto Mancini.

The Argentina striker's future has been in doubt since he handed in a transfer request earlier in the season.

Even after captaining City to victory in last weekend's FA Cup final against Stoke at Wembley, Tevez suggested he might have to move back to South America for family reasons.

But Mancini, after seeing Tevez score twice in City's 3-0 Premier League win over Stoke on Tuesday, said the forward was happy to stay put.

"He has a five-year contract and has told us he wants to stay," said Mancini. "He said that before. He never had any problem."

Tevez's double strike left the former Manchester United striker level with current Old Trafford forward Dimitar Berbatov at the top of the Premier League goalscoring table.

And upbeat Italian manager Mancini said: "Carlos has scored 20 goals this season. Every time we say Carlos is an important player. Carlos is Carlos. He is a fantastic striker and a fantastic player for us.

"I think he will stay here next year. He doesn't have a problem," he said.

"I spoke with him many times in the last 20 days. It is my opinion that Carlos stays here next season.

"In December he had a problem. But everyone can change his opinion.

"I don't know what his representatives think.

"Carlos is an important player here. The feeling for him is good."

City's victory saw it leapfrog Arsenal into third place with just one game of the Premier League season left and means that, if it stays there, it will go straight into next term's Champions League without having to play in the qualifying round.

And Mancini said the prospect of playing in European club soccer's leading competition would help persuade the 27-year-old Tevez to stay with north-west side City, bankrolled by its big-spending owners from Abu Dhabi.

"When we play in the Champions League, probably we will have a better squad. We can buy other good players," Mancini said. "Why should he change? I don't think this will happen.

"Carlos has scored 20 (league) goals this season.

"He is a fantastic striker and a fantastic player for us."

During its 3-0 win over Stoke City, Tevez gave City a 14th-minute lead when, following a one-two with England midfielder James Milner, he turned a couple of Stoke defenders inside-out before unleashing a fierce drive.

The game stayed at 1-0 until the second half, giving Stoke the prospect of coming back.

But, unlike in the Cup final, City doubled its lead in the 53rd minute when Lescott headed home Adam Johnson's freekick after getting in front of goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen.

Tevez put the result beyond doubt in the 65th minute with a brilliant curling freekick from about 30 yards.

Now Mancini's expensively assembled side knows that so long as it, at the very least, matches the result of Arsenal, which has a tricky last-day encounter away to London rival Fulham, it is guaranteed to finish third.

Agence France-Presse

(China Daily 05/19/2011 page22)