Carlos Tevez was always bound to eventually fade into obscurity after leaving Europe to return to his native Argentina in 2015.

The former Juventus striker signed for Boca Juniors just three weeks on from playing for the Italian giants in the Champions League final against Barcelona.

Despite being 31-years-old at the time, Tevez was widely regarded to have plenty more to give at the highest level.

But he chose to devote the remainder of his peak years striving to fulfil his dream of winning the Argentina Primera Division and Copa Argentina double with his boyhood club.

Tevez pulled it off in impressive style, scoring nine goals in 15 matches before the riches of the Chinese Super League lured him away from his homeland for the second time.

The veteran striker accepted an eye-watering £650,000-per-week offer from Shanghai Shenhua to reportedly become the highest-paid footballer in the world.

If there’s any concrete evidence the financial side of football has gone made, Tevez’s £71.6 million transfer fee and bulging wallet must surely be it.

The 33-year-old is yet to reward his employers for their enormous investment, having found the net only twice in 12 outings for the club.

It certainly hasn't been a smooth transition to life in the Far East for Tevez, who was jeered by his own fans during his first appearance since returning to Argentina for injury treatment in mid-August.

The Shanghai faithful watched their side lose 2-1 to Henan Jianye on Sunday and targeted their ineffectual marquee forward due to his apparent lack of fitness.

To cap off the disappointing result, manager Gus Poyet was given the boot before his replacement, Wu Jingui, expressed grave concern about Tevez’s failure to contribute.

WHY TEVEZ IS UNABLE TO PLAY

The ex-West Ham, Manchester United and Manchester City star has been struggling to shake off a persistent calf injury – but that didn’t convince his new boss to mince his words.

"I won’t pick him right now. He's not ready physically. He's not fit to play,” Wu said of Tevez, per Goal.

“He is overweight, along with [Fredy] Guarin. I have to take responsibility for the team and the players as well.

"If you are unable to do your utmost to play, there's no point in picking you.”

Tevez has been constantly linked with a return to Boca Juniors in what's only a natural response to how his Chinese Super League career has fared to date.

Only time will tell whether his astounding wage packet will persuade him to get up to speed with his current club.