Real are looking for a new striker because Ruud van Nistelrooy will not play again this season following a knee operation and they have been alerted that Tevez is unhappy at no longer being a regular at Old Trafford, having fallen behind Wayne Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov in the pecking order.

But United’s £10million contract with Media Sports Investments, who own Tevez’s economic rights, is for two seasons and cannot be broken before next summer – unless the club are happy to release him.

A source close to MSI said: “Carlos can only leave if United are prepared to let him go and that is not the case. He can’t demand to go because he has a contract until June.”