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Thirteen years ago, West Ham United made two of the most iconic signings of the Premier League era by bringing Argentine stars Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano to the club.

Both players were arriving from Corinthians, via agent Kia Joorabchian, who had strong ties with the Brazilian side at the time.

Tevez recalled this move in a live chat on Instagram on Thursday night. He was interviewed by comedian El Mazi, and remembered how hard it was to adapt to England.

“I play the 2006 World Cup and go to London. They throw me away in London, in a hotel, without knowing how to speak English… I didn’t understand anything, I’d go with the translator to the bathroom. I didn’t understand anything,” said Tevez (via TyC Sports).

“I remember that I suffered a lot the first two or three months, I wanted to go back, I couldn’t stand the English, I trained well and they did not put me on. I wanted to go back, I didn’t want to know anything about London, I didn’t understand anything, for breakfast it was a mess, even for sleeping it was a mess… I wanted to go back, I couldn’t take it anymore.”

“The first class all good, the first two all good, when they started with the verbs… That’s it. The third, Masche told me that we had English and I said ‘go ahead, I’ll stay asleep’.”

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However, Tevez’s hard feelings with English people were only about those from the coaching staff. He claims he loved the local fanbase.

“The English fan is very affectionate. Win or lose and they’d stop you outside to greet you, give you encouragement. It’s one of the best leagues I played, that’s why I stayed so long. In Manchester I started to enjoy it a little more.”

Tevez had seven goals and five assists in 27 matches for West Ham in the 2006/07 season. He soon moved to Manchester United, where he won the Premier League and the Champions League the following year.

The Argentine star then played for Manchester City, Juventus, Boca Juniors and Shanghai Shenhua. He’s now back at the Buenos Aires side at the age of 36.