Sir Alex Ferguson has condemned the "stupid" prices being quoted in this summer's transfer market after admitting that Manchester United, once the most powerful spenders in English football, have been priced out of signing the top players because of the way selling clubs have reacted to the immense financial power of Manchester City and Real Madrid.
While Madrid have spent £180m since the galáctico-obsessed Florentino Pérez's reinstatement as president, and City have become the biggest spenders in the Premier League, United have spent only a quarter of the £80m they received for Cristiano Ronaldo and Ferguson said he does not expect any more arrivals because of the exorbitant fees being demanded.
Michael Owen, the manager conceded, had been signed as a back-up option after United refused to match Madrid in the pursuit for his principal target, the France international striker Karim Benzema, who eventually moved to the Bernabéu from Lyon for around £35m. His only remaining target is Douglas Costa, the Brazilian Under-20 international, but Ferguson is frustrated in the extreme that Gremio want £21m for a teenager who has only just broken into their team and, unless a compromise can be reached, United will withdraw again.
"I said a year ago, when they [the Abu Dhabi United Group] took over at City, that this was possible," Ferguson said. "Some of the values across the world now are amazing; the numbers that get tossed about. The values of players have shot sky high. I don't think any of the [big] transfers this summer are realistic but for some reason it has caught fire this summer. It's an unusual summer and it's very difficult to get value because of that."
United have spent around £20m so far, buying Antonio Valencia from Wigan Athletic for around £17m and Gabriel Obertan from Bordeaux for £3m, with Owen arriving on a free transfer. The club have been erroneously linked with a variety of expensive targets and Ferguson anticipates many supporters being disappointed not to have replaced Ronaldo with a more highly sought after replacement.
"I can only placate the fans in one way and that's by not being stupid," he responded. "We have that wonderful sum of money from Real Madrid but there's no way we are going to throw it away by putting an extra zero on the end of transfer fees when I didn't think it was value.
"We went in for Benzema but, as far as we were concerned, the price tag was beyond his value. If other clubs want to go to that level, that's entirely their business. We had a value that we thought was fair and we didn't want to go above that position. Maybe Lyon thought we under-valued him and that's fine, it's their decision. They got €42m for him and they will be happy with that because they have done well. All this tells you about us is that we are sensible.
"We have always had to pay a bit extra at this club but this summer we were not prepared to do that. We have a very good squad and some good young players. So there was no need to have a knee-jerk reaction after losing him [Ronaldo]. We did very well to keep him for six years. It was his moment to leave and we allowed him to do that. But we should not panic because of one player leaving.
"What I have done is bring in youth in Antonio and Gabriel and an old codger in Michael to balance things up because experience is vital and I know that he will score a lot of goals for us. He will give us experience in the penalty box. That is what he has been great at for years and years."
Yet Owen, it has become clear, was not Ferguson's first target when it became apparent to him that Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez would be leaving Old Trafford.
"Michael knows that," Ferguson explained. "We looked at the situation and mulled it over for quite a few months. We knew that his contract was coming to an end but I still had an intention to bring in another player [Benzema]. What confused us was waiting for a decision from Carlos Tevez. That confused us as we were not getting any answers, which put us in quite a quandary in terms of what we should do. We waited long enough. We tried to get Benzema but as soon as that fell through we went for Michael. I've explained this to Michael – that, at 21, Benzema was a possibility. But as soon as that looked to be floundering I contacted Michael.
"We had the four strikers anyway - [Dimitar] Berbatov, [Wayne] Rooney, [Federico] Macheda and [Danny] Welbeck. I know two of them are young but, listen, youngsters with ability will always get a chance here.
"With Antonio, we had been negotiating with Wigan for some months and that was straightforward. With Gabriel, we have been watching him since he was 16, when he was probably the most sought after youngster in Europe. His form dipped a little last season, possibly because he had an injury. But that form has returned. He was fantastic in the recent Under-21s game against England and that reignited our interest. He is young and that is what we like. We want a group of young players who can continue our success."
Ferguson initially said that United's transfer business was now "concluded", although that should maybe be taken lightly given that he stated at the end of last season there would be no significant arrivals or departures whatsoever. It was also put to Ferguson that he had previously stated he would not sell Madrid, or "that mob" as he referred to them, a "virus" and, smiling, he accepted that he had deliberately misled the media.
"I had a good relationship with the boy. He explained to me what he felt and it was exactly as [former assistant manager] Carlos [Queiroz] and I had thought two or three years ago. We never thought we were going to keep him for a long time. To have him for six years, we're very proud of that, very pleased. He's taken this opportunity to have another challenge and I respect him because he was a fantastic player for us. He was a good lad, he caused no problems and we wish him well."
Ferguson was reminded he had told the same group of journalists earlier this year that Ronaldo would stay at the club for another five seasons. "I'm very sympathetic," he said, laughing. "I nearly cried when he came to see me."
Later Ferguson acknowledged that, if there was a change in the market, specifically Gremio drastically reducing their valuation of Costa, United would be willing to go back into the transfer market. "We have two months before the deadline so it could change. Anything is possible. You never know."
For now, however, United are watching Madrid's transfer activity with a sense of awe. "They did this thing a few years ago with [Zinedine] Zidane and [Luís] Figo etc," Ferguson said. "It's in their nature to do these things. It's the way they operate. They are not nearly as afraid of debt as everyone else in the world. You also have to applaud them for the system they use in controlling that debt, whether it's a bank or whatever. But it's different from us and we're happy the way we operate. No matter what players we have got in, we are still going to be strong next season."
The £80m fee for Ronaldo was "non-negotiable, take it or leave it" but Ferguson still has misgivings about whether Madrid, a team he described as "too slow" to win the Champions League last season, will be more credible challengers now they have added Ronaldo, Kaka and Benzema to their ranks. "No," he said firmly. "Barcelona are the team to aim for."
true la .. all Premiership teams this season pull back alot compared to last few seasons .