Roberto Mancini has denied he has spoken to Liverpool about a possible swap deal involving Andy Carroll and Carlos Tevez.
It was reported on Sunday that Liverpool contacted City last week to discuss the possibility of a swap that would see Tevez move to Anfield with Carroll heading in the opposite direction.
City's football administrator Brian Marwood rejected the proposal and Mancini has made it clear he was not made aware of Liverpool's approach.
"I never heard of this," said Mancini at a press conference on Monday. "Carroll is a good player, he is young and strong but it would be difficult and I don't think [it is going to happen].
"There was no phone call to me. I don't know if Brian Marwood was involved. I just read it in the newspaper. I didn't speak to Marwood about this.
"My opinion about Carlos is that it is important he finds a good solution because he can stay for a year without playing. It is important that he plays, he is a top player.
"At the moment no, because we have not talked about this with Liverpool. This is a new one for me."
Carroll joined Liverpool 12 months ago in a high-profile move that saw Fernando Torres join Chelsea, but the striker has struggled for goals and recent reports suggested he would be leaving Anfield before the end of the month.
City’s decision to leak the story has angered Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish but he insists the player will not be going anywhere before the transfer window closes.
"We're not going to get involved in justifying what people are saying - we don’t have to. Get City to justify it, not us," Dalglish said.
"We're not talking about any specific incident, but if you are going to business in any way, shape or form, you don't disclose it until it's done."