Diego Maradona admits he tried to sign Manchester City rebel Carlos Tevez for Al Wasl.

Maradona has confirmed that he tried to sign Carlos Tevez from Manchester City but when he failed, convinced the Argentine striker to end his war with City boss Roberto Mancini and return to Manchester.

"It's true, I tried to sign Tevez for Al Wasl, but it was impossible," said Maradona, who is now coaching Al Wasl in the Middle East.

"We had problems signing a Uruguayan player named Porta for $1.3million, so we were never going to have much of a chance.

"But I talked with Carlitos about his troubles at Manchester City, because I was worried about him. I convinced him to return to Manchester. I gave him advice: 'You have to relax and just be calm.

"I told him he didn't deserve an exit like that from Manchester City, because he had earned the love of the half of Manchester. It is hard to become an idol for both teams of Manchester, but he did it. Man City is trying to punish him financially, but he owns the money, because he earned it out on the pitch."