Carlos Tevez - the Sir Alex Ferguson rebel who ignited the power shift from Man United to Man City

Carlos Tevez's hospital dash after suffering from chest pains has brought well wishes from across Manchester, where he played with passion and purpose for both clubs.

The 40-year-old, one of only 14 footballers to play for both top-flight Manchester teams, spent the night at a clinic in the upmarket Buenos Aires neighbourhood of San Isidro after seeking medical help. He is due to undergo more tests today at another nearby hospital.

Tevez's role in the power shift between Man United and their city rivals is crucial. City, once upon a time, were the upstarts in Manchester, living in the shadow of their neighbours over at Old Trafford. That was to change, and Tevez would play a critical part.

“They're a small club with a small mentality. All they can talk about is Manchester United; they can't get away from it.”

Sir Alex Ferguson delivered many a scornful assessment during his career but this scowling indictment in 2009 was his fiercest attack on City. The noisy neighbours were starting to grow louder and show their teeth a year on from Sheikh Mansour’s takeover.

Outbursts often tell the tale of a manager’s true emotions on a given topic, and current United boss Erik ten Hag has been accused of feeling the pressure following his extraordinary press conference this week.

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United are now the club playing catch-up and will go into the FA Cup final against City on May 25 as the comfortable underdogs. Supporters are hoping that Sir Jim Ratcliffe can close the gap.

Take a drive along Wharfside Way and you will see a red-printed ‘Welcome To Manchester’ sign emblazoned with Ratcliffe’s portrait. It is a retaliation to the Tevez version produced by Man City in 2009, which prompted that furious reaction from Ferguson.

That Tevez poster was located three miles away in Deansgate and perhaps signalled the start of the power shift in Manchester. City boss Mark Hughes played down the gesture as harmless fun between rival fan bases but his former United boss did not concur.

“They think taking Carlos Tevez away from Manchester United is a triumph. It is poor stuff,” Ferguson added. Sir Alex had announced that United had tabled an offer for the West Ham loanee in May 2009, despite the attacker outlining his intentions to leave a week earlier.

The player’s agent rebuffed those claims at the time but eventually a lucrative five-deal offer arrived. However, Tevez had already made up his mind.

This was the first time in the modern era where a player United and their fans wanted to keep had actively chosen City over them. The table of dominance didn’t tilt immediately, though.

United lifted the League Cup and lost out on the title by a point to Chelsea the following season while City failed to finish in the top four. The 2010/11 season would be a landmark campaign for the Blues.

United reclaimed the Premier League title but were starting to see City catch up. They finished third and nine points behind but still managed to stick a thorn in the side of their red rivals.

A Yaya Toure winner in the Wembley semi-final meeting against United denied them a double that season with lesser-favoured Stoke City beating Bolton in the other semi-final. Toure struck again in the final to see Tevez - now captain - lift the club’s first major piece of silverware in 35 years.

The tone towards Tevez was slightly different 12 months later. The striker was accused of refusing to warm-up in a Champions League game by Roberto Mancini which led to a falling out and a self-inflicted five-month exile.

Some fans wanted the Argentine gone and a new Tevez poster was unfurled in the away end at Blackburn Rovers in October 2011, this time reading ‘Tevez Out’. He eventually apologised and played a major part in the final months of the dramatic 2012 title-winning season.

United would win the 2013 title in Ferguson’s final season at Old Trafford before retirement. But, although some 11 points behind, City finished second and were now regular title challengers. Tevez left for Juventus that summer having been a major part of the power shift in Manchester.

Pep Guardiola’s arrival three years and a title later cemented that and cast the club into their era of dominance. City are now favoured over United when it comes to transfer pursuits - even Cristiano Ronaldo was destined for the Etihad until an intervening phone call from Ferguson.

Since the Scot’s retirement, United have failed to win the title again while City have added six more. There is a current re-scrambling going on in the Old Trafford backrooms as Ratcliffe turfs out the old guard who have partaken in the club’s demise in recent years.

It would be incorrect to suggest money has not been a factor, with the Glazers refusing to use their own tender while Sheikh Mansour injects his fortune into Man City.

United fans will hope their Ratcliffe billboard poster will mark a second power shift, but he and they know how big a task this will be. All the talk is now all about how United can catch City.

“[City's] biggest success of all is to just get the players there. They might not get beyond that,” said Ferguson in that rant in 2009.

One of the tell-tale signs that the tables in Manchester are turning once again will be when United win a Tevez-like transfer race against City without the intervention of a club icon. Right now, that seems like a long shot.

For now though, both sides of Manchester will forget the rivalry and wish the Argentine all the best in his recovery.