Manchester United striker Carlos Tevez has explained his bizarre 'baby's dummy' celebration after scoring the winner against Birmingham City.
The Argentinian grabbed the headlines by popping a baby's dummy in his mouth after scoring United's winning goal against Birmingham on New Year's Day. It was a tribute to his daughter, who is in Argentina with his wife Vanesa.
"The idea behind the dummy was to pay homage to my daughter and to let her and my wife know that my family is still my priority.
"The absence of my family at this time of year is not easy but players have to be professional and in England our obligation is to be on the field at this time of year.
"Nobody else knew I was going to do this. I told my team-mates nothing and even made sure that they could not see what I was doing as I was getting changed.
"I put the dummy in an inside pocket of my shorts and just went out on to the pitch. So it was a surprise to everybody and that was what I wanted.
"Yesterday the image was in all the newspapers in Argentina and that is what I hoped. It means that my family will have seen it and that they will know that I am thinking of them at this time of year when, really, people should be together."
Tevez first did the dummy routine as a Corinthians player when Florencia was born two-and-a-half years ago.
But he had never done it here - either for United this season or when he played for West Ham during the previous Barclays Premier League campaign.
He said: "In Corinthians I celebrated Florencia's birth with a goal and the same image.
"I didn't expect to repeat it in England but things like this are spontaneous and always depend on how you are feeling."
