Tevez was never worth 25million pound : Tevez

GARY NEVILLE insists Manchester United were right to get rid of Carlos Tevez because he was overpriced.

The Reds balked at a £25million asking price after the Argentine had spent two years on loan at Old Trafford.

Now the striker, 25, is in red-hot form for rivals Manchester City and they meet tonight at Eastlands in the first leg of the Carling Cup semi-finals.

But United's club captain agreed with boss Alex Ferguson that at the end of last season the figures just did not stack up.

Neville said: "The manager over the years has made many decisions with regard to players coming and going - and he has almost always been proved correct.

"Over a period of 20 years he may have got one or two wrong, and I think he has admitted that himself, but he knows exactly what he's doing and he understands when a player's time is up. I can't disagree with his decision on Tevez. He was a good player for us but, if the financial demands are too big, then that's just the way it goes.

"Other good players have left this club in the past, it's not the first time it's happened.

"We have the best manager in the world at putting teams together. He's done it successfully for 20 years. There have not been many people who have questioned him over the years and been proved right."

Tevez has 11 goals in his last nine starts and will be desperate to add to that tally tonight in one of the biggest clashes between the city rivals for many years.

Neville admitted: "Our two Carling Cup games against City are massive. It's a derby and one of the biggest games we have played against City for a long time.

"Certainly we expect it to be a difficult game. They are in good form and it's always difficult away against City. We will have to be at our best for the game.

"I've only seen one of City's games since Roberto Mancini took over as manager - their 3-0 win at Wolves. City impressed me in that game but I haven't seen a great deal of them."

United full-back Patrice Evra dismisses the rivalry with City, claiming that while it's a big game for the blue half of Manchester it is just another match for the red half.

He said: "It's an important game against City, a big game, but I only talk about it because I want to win this game and have a chance to win a trophy.

"Maybe that's the difference between United and City. We play the game to win and to win the Carling Cup, they play to win against Manchester United."

While United struggle under crippling debt, City can boast being the richest club in the world under the ownership of Sheikh Mansour.

But Neville says there is no paranoia at Old Trafford over City's increased strength.

He said: "I don't see the game as a chance to reassert our dominance over City.

"We're quite comfortable with where we are. We are second in the league, in the Carling Cup semi-finals and in the second phase of the Champions League.

"People might think something is going on in Manchester between the two clubs, but we can't afford to get involved in that."