Carlos Tevez father released unharmed after being kidnapped in Argentina

Reports suggest a ransom was paid to end the eight hour ordeal

The father of Carlos Tevez has been released unharmed after being kidnapped in Argentina.

It emerged that Segundo Tevez had been taken around sunrise in Argentina yesterday but was freed eight hours later amid reports that a ransom of 400,000 pesos was paid, the equivalent of £28,000.

Lawyer Gustavo Galasso told reporters that the father of Carlos Tevez, who used to play for Manchester United and Manchester City, was "free, he is in good condition and has reunited with his family". Galasso asked television stations not to transmit live from the home of the player's family outside the Argentine capital of Buenos Aires, but failed to confirm if a ransom had been paid.

The governor of Buenos Aires province, Daniel Scioli, said the kidnapping began as a car-jacking but when the assailants realised Tevez's identity after checking the car's papers, they "recaptured him as he was walking away, put him in another car, and began calling the family to extort them."

Carlos Tevez' current club Juventus said that they gave the striker permission to travel for "family reasons," but Scioli revealed the 30-year-old opted not to return home "in light of the good news".

Segundo Tevez is not Carlos's biological father, but is married to the footballer's mother. The former West Ham player's biological father died when he was a child.