He was born and raised in the humble neighbourhood of Ejército de Los Andes, known as "Fuerte Apache", from where he got the nickname of Apache. Carlitos has a scar from the right ear to his chest, product of a burn with boiling water when he was a young boy. Carlos declined plastic surgery since he would have to be out of the playground for four months.

He joined Boca at the age of thirteen and played his first professional match with Boca on October 21, 2001 against Talleres de Córdoba. He played for the team until the end of 2004. With Boca Juniors he won an Argentine Championship (2003), a Copa Libertadores (2003), an Intercontinental Cup (2003), and a Copa Sudamericana (2004). Because of the Intercontinental Cup of 2003, he didn't participate in the 2003 FIFA World Youth Championship with the Argentine team.

Tévez was a key part of Boca's victory in the 2003 Copa Libertadores, but his greatest achievement was during the 2004 Olympic Games, where he won the gold medal with his team, and scored eight goals in six matches to be the top scorer of the competition. He also participated in the 2004 Copa América, helping Argentina to the runner-up spot.

The Argentine Football Writers chose him as Footballer of the Year in 2003 and 2004, and also Sportsman of the Year 2004. He was named Futbolista latinoamericano más destacado ("Most notable Latin American footballer") in 2003 by Latin American Fox Sports, and in the same years was the world's second Top Goal Scorer 2004 in international competitions (International Federation of Football History and Statistics) with 16 goals, one less than Ali Daei from Iran.

In December 2004, he transferred to Sport Club Corinthians Paulista for $20 million with a five year contract worth $10 million, following the Brazilian club's deal with Media Sports Investment. The deal was the biggest transfer ever in South American football. Initially Tévez was not well received by the Corinthians fans - including Brazilian president Lula. However, Tévez has since become the captain and star of the team that won the 2005 Brazilian league, and the fans' favourite player and was being linked to Chelsea FC as a result of Roman Abramovich's link to MSI.

Tévez was selected by José Pekerman for Argentina for the 2006 World Cup. He started the first match against the Ivory Coast on the bench but came on as a substitute for the match against Serbia and Montenegro. He scored the fifth goal and assisted Lionel Messi's sixth goal in Argentina's 6-0 victory. In Argentina's drawn final Group C match against Holland, Tévez played the entire duration and emerged man of the match.

On August 23, 2006, Sky Sports revealed that Tévez was refusing to play for Corinthians. The article insinuated that a move to Europe was likely, with Chelsea and Manchester United both mentioned as possible destinations. Yet on Thursday 31st August 2006, the day of the European transfer deadline, Tévez confirmed on his website that both he and Javier Mascherano were signing for West Ham United on permanent deals, for an undisclosed fee. The deal shocked the football world and controversy surrounds the move's exact nature and terms, with media reports suggesting that several other Premiership clubs turned down the opportunity of signing Tevez and Mascherano because of the stipulations put in place by the owner of the players' contracts, MSI.

Olympic medal record
Men's Football
Gold 2004 Athens Team

2007/08 - Premier League (Manchester United F.C.)
2007/08 - Uefa Champion League (Manchester United F.C.)
2005 - Campeonato Brasileiro Série A (Corinthians)
2004 - Olympic gold medal (Argentina)
2004 - Pre-Olympics (Argentina)
2004 - Copa Sudamericana (Boca Juniors)
2003 - Intercontinental Cup (Boca Juniors)
2003 - Argentine Apertura (Boca Juniors)
2003 - Copa Libertadores (Boca Juniors)
2003 - South American under-20 Championship (Argentina)

2007 - West Ham United Hammer of the Year
2007 - Hammers News Player of the Year
2005 - Campeonato Brasileiro's Best Player by CBF (Brazilian Soccer Confederation)
2005 - Campeonato Brasileiro's Best Player (Brazilian Placar magazine)
2004 - Olimpia de Oro award for Argentine most important Sportperson of the year (Shared with Basketball player Manu Ginobili) (Clarín newspaper)
2004 - Olympic Golden Boot (8 goals in 6 matches)
2003, 2004 and 2005 - South American Player of the Year (Uruguayan newspaper El País)