Argentina striker Carlos Tevez has confirmed Manchester City's worst fears by saying he must leave the club to spend more time with his children, according to an interview with Britain's Daily Mail.

City captain Tevez led the north-west side to FA Cup glory and qualification for the Champions League last season but did so while living apart from his young daughters.

He is currently playing for Argentina in the Copa America but, in a statement published on the Mail's website on Monday, Tevez said: "It is with great regret that I have to inform Manchester City of my wish to leave the club.

"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."

Tevez's daughters currently live with their mother, Tevez's estranged partner Vanesa, in Buenos Aires.

"I need them to be happy because my life is about them now. I need to be in a place where they can adapt.

"Being captain of Manchester City, qualifying for the Champions League, winning the FA Cup and finishing as top scorer last season has made me very proud. I hope that most of the City fans will understand that I have given them my all on the pitch and that my dedication to the City cause has been 100 percent on the pitch."

"I have no doubt that the players and management of City will achieve great success in the future."

It is understood Vanesa and the children struggled to settle in Manchester and returned to Argentina.

Tevez, in an interview with the Mail in Buenos Aires, said: "It is great being here but it is going to be even more difficult to go back now.

"It's great now, enjoying spending time with my family but it will be tough to go back. Being back here means I can cuddle my daughters. It's a difficult situation when I'm not here."

City manager Roberto Mancini has repeatedly insisted that Tevez, who previously played for the club's local rival Manchester United, would stay at Eastlands.

The club's FA Cup final win against Stoke gave City its first major piece of silverware in 35 years.