Retired footballer turned coach Carlos Tevez has come out in support of President Javer Milei’s government.
Tevez, 39, offered Milei a strong endorsement, painting him as “strong and tough” and arguing that Argentina desperately needed a change.
The ex-Boca Juniors star said the country is going through “a very difficult time” and that he “had hope” that the libertarian leader’s time in office would improve things.
“I think this is the way to change something. I have hope,” said Tevez, who is currently the coach of top-flight side Independiente.
"I have never spoken to Milei, I don't know him. But I think it's when you have to make a big impact, and you have to be tough and strong to change something,” he continued.
“I believe that although it hurts, and I know that many people are suffering, I hope that this is the way that can change something," said the former striker.
The former Juventus, Manchester United and Manchester City striker is one of the few voices in the domestic footballing world to have previously voiced his political preferences.
Tevez is a friend and business partner of former president Mauricio Macri, who led Argentina between 2015 to 2019 and spent 12 years at the helm of Boca Juniors as club president. The duo were both investors in a wind turbine green-energy firm that won government tenders and was accused of impropriety before being cleared.
Macri, who decided not to run in last year’s presidential election, supported Milei’s candidacy in the run-off against former economy minister Sergio Massa. A number of former officials from Macri’s government have been working with the libertarian economist since his victory.
Tevez’s declarations also put him out of step with the club he manages. Last November, Independiente were among a large number of clubs that put out statements rejecting Milei’s proposal to allow the privatisation of clubs – a goal also shared by Milei and that is included in the president’s controversial emergency economic reform decree.
– TIMES
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