Shortly after the dizzying day last September when Manchester City were transformed by the wealth of Sheikh Mansour, the new hierarchy commissioned a glossy document that would chart the club's bittersweet history. It identified their core values as pride, passion, perseverance and professionalism.

City have always had heart, which is why the passionate, persevering figure of Carlos Tévez appears such a good fit as the latest in a long line of expensive signings. But, with every new addition that is lured by the riches from Abu Dhabi, the question will be asked whether the club are losing something of their soul and indeed whether the players concerned - which will include John Terry and Emmanuel Adebayor if they follow Tévez and Gareth Barry in boarding the gravy train to Manchester - have sold theirs in pursuit of wealth.

That question was asked of the 25-year-old Tévez yesterday as, sitting alongside Mark Hughes at the City of Manchester Stadium, his new training top offset by some kind of crocheted headscarf, he was accused of walking the treacherous path across the city from Old Trafford for no reason other than the £140,000 he will earn every week.

And his response was a simple one, saying that, whatever the greater riches on offer, he would have stayed with United if only they - and Sir Alex Ferguson in particular - had shown him the same amount of love and affection that was showered upon him from all directions at his new home yesterday.

There has been something unedifying about Tévez's departure from Old Trafford, from his defiant goal celebration in the Manchester derby against City in early May, as he cupped his ears at the directors' box as if to ask the United board where the contract offer was, to the spat with Ferguson that continued yesterday as he accused the United manager of snubbing him for two years until it was far too late. But while it would take a huge degree of naivety to dismiss money as a huge factor in the move, he echoed those close to him by insisting that what he truly craved was love.

Tévez was asked about Ferguson's accusations that he had failed to reply to two text messages sent shortly before United publicly conceded that the Argentina forward was leaving the club. He had been playing on a two-year lease from the companies that owned his “economic rights”, who are now likely to receive a fee of about £25.5million. Tévez said: “I was two years at United and Alex Ferguson never called or never sent me a text.

“The only time he talked to me was after the game against Roma [it is thought that he means the home match against Inter Milan in March]. It doesn't seem to me to be the way to treat a player who has been two years at the club.

“Money was never important. Having a coach that wants me and wants me to play, along with a good fanbase and an environment in which I am happy, these are the most important things to me.”

Tévez, who spoke through an interpreter, went on to offer his best wishes to United's fans, saying that “a bit of my heart will always be with them”, but, amusingly, City officials went on to claim that he said only that there was “respect” in his heart, which implies that the emotional bond was not quite as strong as he had suggested.

The next question is whether he will get as much playing time as he would like, given that Hughes, the manager, will have to rotate his forwards every bit as judiciously as Ferguson if he is to find a way to keep Tévez, Robinho, Roque Santa Cruz and, presumably Adebayor, happy. This is before players such as Craig Bellamy, who has suffered injury problems since his arrival from West Ham United in January, and others such as Benjani Mwaruwari, are taken into account.

Tévez said that he had received no assurances about his role and that he would have to “fight hard” to win a regular starting place. Fighting hard is the least that City's fans can expect from Tévez, whose industry can sometimes put his team-mates to shame.

Passion and perseverance: City have acquired at least two of those core values in Tévez. And do not try to tell their supporters for one minute that, in doing so, the club have sold their soul. If, with their new-found wealth, they are taking a short cut towards success, it has taken them long enough to find it.