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Carlos Tevez overpriced at £25million, says Sir Alex Ferguson
21 Jul 2009Sir Alex Ferguson has declared Carlos Tevez was not worth the £25million his advisors wanted to turn his "lease" period into a permanent deal with Manchester United.
Tevez joined cash-rich neighbours City from United last week, ending an acrimonious parting with his former Old Trafford boss, who the Argentina star accused of not treating him with respect.
Ferguson did attempt to keep Tevez but only after trying to knock down a price that had previously been agreed with the player's long-time advisor Kia Joorabchian.
And, while many United fans are still unhappy at Tevez's loss, in the brutal final analysis, Ferguson just considered the price to be too high.
"I didn't think he was worth £25m - that's just my judgment, maybe I am wrong," said Ferguson.
"The fans quite rightly have their heroes and I respect them, so I was happy to go along with a deal as long as it was the right one - but he was simply not worth £25m."
Instead, Tevez has joined a massively expanded City squad that has now welcomed Emmanuel Adebayor into its fold, with the prospect of more to come.
The Blues have come under fire for their attempt to lure Chelsea skipper John Terry to Eastlands although, in the same position, Ferguson might well have done the same.
"If I was in City's shoes, with all that kind of money, then I would have a go at that," he said.
"I think it's sensible. He has experience and is the England captain. For some reason they must have known that he was interested.
"I am sure there have been plenty of phone calls going on."
Whether City eventually sign Terry or not, Ferguson is as intrigued as everyone else in football to see how the Abu Dhabi bankrolled project works out.
"It won't be easy for them to win anything, even with all the players they have bought," said Ferguson, moving onto the whole City project.
"They have bought a lot of high profile players but they have 10 strikers. That is a hell of a lot.
"I have not spoken to all the managers but the one or two I have are saying "Who are they going to leave out?".
"How do you tell players they are not even going to be travelling to London? How does he pick a team? We are all interested."
Reader views (6)
15 goals from 51 games is an admirable return from a player who is rarely used as an out and out striker and that doesn't take into account the number of goals he set-up.
He's only 25 so £25M doesn't seem that far off the mark. The only real question for me is, will a MCFC team create enough chances for him? I reckon the answer to that will be no!
- Mark, South-East London, 21/07/2009 13:46
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"Why do you need to sit down to think about it?"
Because I was sitting down to type & most people will be sitting down to read - I'll stand up if you really prefer it...
And Keith: Touché. I'll pop back at the end of the day for a final score.
- John, London, 21/07/2009 12:14
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And I feel he definiyely is worth £25 Million, so that is one-all
- Keith Price, Luton, England, 21/07/2009 11:53
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Why do you need to sit down to think about it?
- Graeme, Hornchurch, England, 21/07/2009 11:47
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Carlos Tevez is a good player with an admirable, hard-working ethic. However, 15 goals from 51 games last season rather suggests old Red Nose is right - he simply isn't worth £25m.
(I hate agreeing with Fergie too).
If City hadn't been in the frame he'd have been bought for well under £20m - which is still a loopy amount of money when you sit down and think about it...
- John, London, 21/07/2009 11:38
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Yeah, but Berbatov was worth £30mill, right?
Shut up Ferguson.
- Stu, Beckton, 21/07/2009 11:06
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