Tevez to walk over haggling

Carlos Tevez and his advisors are understood to be adamant that he will leave Manchester United in the summer if the club continue to try to renegotiate the fee for his permanent registration that they agreed two years ago. It is this dispute which is at the centre of Sir Alex Ferguson's indirect attack on Tevez's advisor Kia Joorabchian after United's 2-1 victory over Wigan on Wednesday night.

Joorabchian is understood to have sought assurances yesterday from the United chief executive, David Gill, that there would be no more public criticism from Ferguson on the issue of Tevez's future. That followed an evening of claim and counter-claim on Wednesday when the United manager implied that the deal had been complicated because they were buying Tevez from a company rather than another football club.

At the heart of the problem is that United do not believe Tevez is worth the fee – thought to be around £22m – that they will need to pay to make permanent his two-year loan deal, which has already cost them around £10m. Ferguson's claim that United had made an offer to Tevez on Wednesday was immediately denied by Joorabchian, although his camp will not confirm exactly what size of fee they want from United.

A fee to make the deal permanent was agreed in 2007 and Joorabchian is unwilling to deviate from that figure. Tevez's advisors believe that United are delaying until the end of the season when they know exactly what the future will be for Cristiano Ronaldo and also where they stand with Franck Ribéry of Bayern Munich and Karim Benzema of Lyon, both of whom are considered prime transfer targets by Ferguson.

At his press conference today, the United manager will be able to clarify the point he made at the JJB Stadium on Wednesday that an offer had been made to Tevez. It is understood that was not the case, although Gill did request a meeting with Joorabchian following Tevez's outspoken interview published at the weekend and his goal celebration protest against Manchester City on Sunday – both of which demonstrated his unhappiness at not being signed permanently.

United would like to keep the player but do not believe that he is worth the price agreed two years ago, when he joined from West Ham. Joorabchian's view is that Tevez's goals against City and Wigan, as well as his part in two phenomenally successful seasons for United, prove that he is full value for the money.