RIO DE JANEIRO, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- Argentine football great Diego Maradona has urged Boca Juniors fans to welcome back Carlos Tevez after his unsuccessful spell at Shanghai Shenhua.

The former Manchester United and Juventus striker scored just once in 16 appearances for the Chinese Super League side, whom he joined from Boca in December 2016.

On Friday, the Buenos Aires giants announced the 33-year-old had returned to the club, without revealing details of his contract or the transfer fee.

In a video posted on his Instagram account, Maradona said it was unfair to question Tevez's loyalty.

"He went to China, made a lot of money and is now coming back to Boca. He hasn't betrayed anybody," the 1986 World Cup winner said.

"I would like to know if anybody who is criticizing Tevez would be capable of refusing a salary of 25 million dollars a year."