Ferguson: Tevez was too pricey

KUALA LUMPUR // Sir Alex Ferguson has declared Carlos Tevez was not worth the £25million (Dh151m) his advisors wanted to turn his "lease" period into a permanent deal with Manchester United. Tevez joined neighbours City from United last week, ending an acrimonious parting with his former Old Trafford manager, who the Argentina striker 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 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. City have come under fire for their attempt to lure Chelsea skipper John Terry to Eastlands, but Ferguson said: "If I was in City's shoes, with all that kind of money, then I would have a go at that ."

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," he said. "They have bought a lot of high profile players but they have 10 strikers. That is a hell of a lot. How does he [manager Mark Hughes] pick a team? We are all interested."

* PA Sport