Carlos Tevez was banned from driving in January (Reuters)
Carlos Tevez was banned from driving in January (Reuters)

Manchester City footballer Carlos Tevez has been ordered to do 250 hours of unpaid work after pleading guilty to driving while disqualified and without insurance.

The Argentinian striker, 29, was also given a fresh six-month ban and £1145 fine at Macclesfield magistrates court.

Tevez risked a six-month prison sentence after pleading guilty to driving whilst banned and uninsured.

The former Manchester United star was arrested on 7 March while driving a white Porsche Cayenne near his home in Alderley Edge, Cheshire.

Police received a tip-off that the striker was driving after he was seen travelling to Mottram Golf Club. After police stopped Tevez, he replied: "I only live down the road."

Tevez was banned from driving for six months in January, after pleading guilty to failing to supply information about two incidents in which his Hummer vehicle was caught speeding.

His lawyers claimed that the former West Ham and Manchester United striker did not know what the letters were about because he did not understand the word "constabulary".

Gwyn Lewis, his solicitor, said: "He does understand the word 'police' but not more complicated words. The letters are written from Cheshire Constabulary and the word police doesn't appear on it anywhere."

The court also heard how Tevez has not yet got a UK driving licence, partly because he has struggled to pass the theory test which is conducted in English. The defendant, who has played in England for the past seven years, was assisted by an interpreter during the hearing.

Tevez's website boasts how he has earned the nickname 'Merlin the Magician' at Manchester City as he has made "many worrying cases disappear."

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