Manchester United boss Alex Ferguson has backed his club to cope without Cristiano Ronaldo, who he feels may make Real Madrid unbalanced.
United sold Ronaldo to Real for £80million earlier this summer, with the Spanish giants also spending huge sums to bring in Kaka from AC Milan and Karim Benzema from Lyon.
The spending was prompted by the re-election of Florentino Perez as Real president. He was criticised in his first term for building a side containing sublime talent in some areas but lacking quality and experience in others, particularly in defence.
Ferguson sees a similar pattern emerging again, a view shared by his Milan counterpart Leonardo.
"I understand all too well that losing 26 goals from a winger is hard to replace, but we will try because it is the nature of our club that the expectations never change whether you have Ronaldo or (Antonio) Valencia," Ferguson said.
"I would not like to be (Real coach Manuel) Pellegrini picking his teams."
Ferguson joked: "I told Ronaldo when he left us that they will probably be playing him at centre-half; I don't think they have one.
"It is difficult with all their individuals to pick the right balance and that is part of it."
Leonardo, whose Milan side are involved alongside United in the four-team Audi Cup in Munich, must also cope without Kaka but is also hoping Real's 'galacticos' policy will come unstuck.
Talking about the first term under Perez, he said: "They did not win so much in the end. It is not easy to construct a team with talented individuals.
"To create a team, you need something more and we hope Real Madrid don't have that. Sometimes you need more than talent to win."
A small fraction of the Ronaldo transfer fee was reinvested to sign Valencia from Wigan, and he is expected to feature against Boca Juniors on Wednesday.
Ferguson has attempted to play down expectations surrounding the Ecuador star, who he believes will need time to settle in at Old Trafford.
"He has the potential and we hope he will develop and will become a star of tomorrow," he said.
"Valencia is a player we watched throughout last season.
"He is young, athletic, has good power and I think, at the age of 23, he can develop at our club."
United face Boca Juniors on Wednesday evening before playing either Bayern Munich or AC Milan in Thursday's final or third-place play-off.
Ferguson added that he had done his homework on Wednesday's South American opponents via late-night television.
"If you can't sleep at three in the morning in England, then you can see Boca," he said. "And I don't sleep at three so I have seen them many times.
"They are one of the best teams in South America. We had a very competitive game with them at Old Trafford three years ago."
Sir Alex: Unbalanced Real will struggle
Sir Alex Ferguson has poured scorn on Real Madrid's attempts to buy their way back to the summit of European football and said the Spanish club's summer spending spree has created an unbalanced squad which will struggle to make an impact. The Manchester United manager said his club would survive the loss of Cristiano Ronaldo and that the team to fear in Europe was still Barcelona. He joked Real's squad was so unbalanced he half-expected Ronaldo to be used as a centre-half. Speaking at the launch of the Audi Cup, a four-team tournament comprising United, Boca Juniors, Bayern Munich and Milan, Ferguson cited the fall of Sunderland in 1958 as an example of where money can take you in football. "Sunderland spent so much money that they became known as 'The Bank of England club'," he said. "They didn't win anything and in the end they got themselves relegated. I am not saying that Real Madrid will get relegated but they will still have plenty of problems with balance. I do not know how [Madrid coach] Manuel Pellegrini plans to pick his side because it has no balance. I told Ronaldo before he flew out that he will end up playing centre-half because I don't think they have one. Barcelona are different because they have grown their squad properly and added one or two players each season. They have a fantastic midfield and they will be once again a threat to everyone taking part in the Champions League."
Tim Rich, The Guardian
After Sir Alex revealed Owen Hargreaves is still recovering from double knee surgery in America, some of the tabloids are speculating that the midfielder has suffered another setback and could be ruled out until Christmas.
Meanwhile, the United boss has admitted he did not use Dimitar Berbatov to his full potential last season. The boss said: "We know exactly how to use him now - further up the pitch, playing as a centre-forward."
Sir Alex Ferguson admits he'll have to tinker with Manchester United's tactics after Cristiano Ronaldo left for Real Madrid.
The Old Trafford boss believes he needs to re-adjust the team's approach if they are to replicate the Portugal winger's scoring feats.
Ferguson has called on his players to get a century of goals next season when they will aim for their fourth successive title and another assault on the Champions League crown.
In an interview on the club's website Ferguson said: "Obviously Cristiano is a big loss in terms of the goals he gave us. But we will just have to find the goals from somewhere else and our tactics will adjust accordingly. Fans will see us playing a slightly different style of football this season.''
Ferguson is now opting to use Wayne Rooney as a central striker, rather than playing him out wide, alongside either Michael Owen or Dimitar Berbatov. Beyond the three main strikers, Ferguson is demanding an increased yield from midfield.
He said: "Usually you look to score about 100 goals in all competitions, so we are aiming for that again. If we are going to win the league again or do well in Europe we certainly need players to step up.
"Going back a few years, we could always guarantee goals from Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs and David Beckham, who always pitched in with about 10 a season. Those goals from midfield have dried up a little in recent years, so we have to address that.
"I will be looking to (Ji-Sung) Park, Nani, (Luis Antonio) Valencia - even (Danny) Welbeck and (Federico) Macheda - to contribute 40 goals between them. The defenders will contribute a few from set-pieces too.''
Sir Alex Ferguson intends to change Manchester United's tactics following the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid. The manager believes he needs to readjust his team's approach if they are to replicate the Portugal winger's scoring feats, and has called on his players to get a century of goals next season, when they will aim for a fourth successive Premier League title and a second Champions League success in three years.
Ferguson said: "Obviously Cristiano is a big loss in terms of the goals he gave us. But we will just have to find the goals from somewhere else and our tactics will adjust accordingly. Fans will see us playing a slightly different style of football this season."
Ferguson is now using Wayne Rooney as a central striker – rather than playing him out wide – alongside Michael Owen or Dimitar Berbatov. Beyond those three main strikers, Ferguson is demanding an increased yield from midfield.
"Usually you look to score about 100 goals in all competitions, so we are aiming for that again," he said. "If we are going to win the league again or do well in Europe we certainly need players to step up. Going back a few years, we could always guarantee goals from Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs and David Beckham, who always pitched in with about 10 a season.
"Those goals from midfield have dried up a little in recent years, so we have to address that. I will be looking to Park [Ji-sung], Nani, [Luis Antonio] Valencia – even [Danny]Welbeck and [Federico] Macheda – to contribute 40 goals between them.
"The defenders will contribute a few from set-pieces too."