Carlos Tevez move to Corinthians falls through

SAO PAULO (Reuters) -- Striker Carlos Tevez's proposed move to Corinthians has fallen through after the Brazilian club issued a statement on Tuesday saying time had run out to bring the Argentine back.

"The board of Sport Club Corinthians Paulista officially communicate the impossibility of signing the Argentine striker Carlos Tevez," the statement issued late on Tuesday said.

"While acknowledging the efforts of Manchester City and all involved in the negotiations, there isn't more available time for the transfer to be achieved, given that the transfer window to players from abroad closes on Wednesday, July 20."

Transfers of players signed from abroad and coming into the Brazilian championship must be completed by 2100 GMT on Wednesday.

Corinthians, for whom Tevez played in the mid-2000s before moving to the Premier League with West Ham United, did not rule out trying again to bring the popular striker back.

"Aware of the fans' big dream of having the striker as a Corinthians player (again), the board looks forward to signing Tevez in the near future," the statement added.

A source close to Corinthians president Andres Sanchez had said earlier on Tuesday a deal was unlikely after City demanded shorter payment terms and the first installment of a 40 million euros ($56.76 million) deal up front.

"(City) want to see the money and Corinthians won't commit financial madness," the source, who was close to the talks and did not want to be named, told Reuters.

Media reports say Corinthians offered City 40 million euros to be paid in four installments over four years with the first early in 2012 but the English club, reputed to be the richest in the world thanks to billionaire Abu Dhabi owner Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, rejected the offer.

Corinthians' plan was to pay for Tevez, who said he would like to leave City for personal reasons, with television match broadcasting income which is close to 100 million Brazilian real ($63.5 nillion) per year.