News

Manchester United boss Alex Ferguson today gave a wide-ranging interview to The Sunday Times in which he lamented the transfer policies of Premier League rivals Chelsea and Manchester United.

Though the Red Devils have grown more frugal in recent years regarding their transfer spending, Fergie claimed that the club can no longer compete for "top players" due to the freewheeling policies of Chelsea and City.

"What we are finding a problem is the climate for buying top ­players," Ferguson told The Sunday Times' writer Duncan Castles.

“It’s not just the transfer fees or the salaries, it’s also the agents’ fees. It’s getting ridiculous now. In the [Eden] Hazard deal, ­Chelsea paid the agent £6 million.

"I mean, you make a phone call, say, ‘Are you interested in a player?’, a couple of hours of negotiations, you get £6m. Seems absolutely ridiculous, doesn’t it?”

A confident Fergio also stated that he believes that United are the team to beat next season, owed to their "unbelievable" record of coming back after losing a title and more importantly, their decision to invest in youth development rather than splashing the cash.

"You see, the difference between Manchester United and the rest is that we can play 18-year-olds if they are good enough, because it is part of our history," he added.

"It seems to be a sort of destiny for us that when a young player emerges, play him. It’s never failed us.

"There’s not many clubs can do that. City won’t do it. They definitely won’t play any young players. All the buys are 25-, 26-, 27-year-old players, good maturity, right type of experience, good ages. But they don’t play any young players.”