Pablo Zabaleta admits helping persuade former Manchester United striker Carlos Tevez about moving to Manchester City.

The Argentine fullback told City's website: "Carlos and I are good pals - I've known him a long time, from when we were in the Under-17s and the Under-20 team for Argentina. As we all know, he is a very good player, and we wanted his quality.

"Carlos spoke to me before he came here. He asked me to talk about the club and of course I told him how big Manchester City is, and that it is a good club to be at. We hope to finish in the top six.

"City is very different now, and Carlos is good for everybody. Players want to come here. We have bought Gareth Barry and the others - they come because they believe in the project, and that's important.

"The new signings have changed everything. Last season was difficult - now a lot of players have gone, and it is a new team. We've got some good players for this season, the pressure is going to be different."