• Glazer family debt rules out deal for Valencia
international
• Manchester United sign Mexico striker Javier Hernández
Valencia's David Villa is set to leave the Mestalla
this summer and has indicated that he would like a move to
Manchester United. Photograph: Pierre-Philippe Marcou/AFP/Getty
Images
Manchester United have turned down the
chance to sign David Villa, the Spain striker, because of the
financial restrictions placed upon Sir Alex Ferguson by the club's
ruling Glazer family.
Villa, one of the most revered forwards in the world during five
prolific years at Valencia, is to leave
the Mestalla in the summer and, after initially stating that he
wanted to stay in Spain and move to either Barcelona or Real
Madrid, has changed his position with information reaching United
in the last few weeks that they are his preferred destination.
Ferguson is a long-time admirer of the 28-year-old but Valencia
want around £35m to £40m and United's position is that the fee will
have to be lowered otherwise it will be financially prohibitive at
a time when the club has accrued debts in excess of £700m. This is
despite Ferguson's repeated insistence that the balance from the
£80m sale of Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid last summer is
available, United having already spent £20m.
Instead, United responded to their eliminationfrom the Champions
League by announcing that they had agreed a deal with Chivas de
Guadalajara to sign the Mexico striker Javier Hernández, dependent
on the 21-year-old gaining a work permit.
Hernández, also known as Chicharito or "Little Pea", has passed
a medical and becomes the seventh striker on United's payroll
alongside Wayne Rooney, Michael Owen, Dimitar Berbatov, Federico
Macheda, Daniel Welbeck and Mame Biram Diouf. However, his arrival
for an undisclosed fee will do little to dispel growing concerns
among United supporters that Ferguson is being deprived of
significant transfer funds to bring in a player who can ease the
level of dependence on Rooney.
Villa would have been one such man, second only to Raúl in
La
Liga's list of all-time scorers, and is so intrigued by the
possibility of playing in the Premier
League he is already taking English lessons. He has also spoken
to Fernando Torres, his international team-mate, about Liverpool
but accepted they would not be able to afford him. Villa thinks
less favourably of Chelsea and Manchester City, the two clubs who
would have fewer problems matching the fee.
As well as currently being out of United's price range, however,
Villa does not fit the Glazers' policy of avoiding spending large
sums on players who are 26 or above and who would, in theory, have
little resale value at the end of a four- or five-year contract.
The club made an exception for Dimitar Berbatov, who was 27 when he
signed from Tottenham Hotspur for £30.75m in September 2008, but
that transfer has been described by the chief executive, David
Gill, as the last of its kind.
Hernández has scored 11 goals in Mexico's Primera División this
season, putting him joint third in the scoring charts, and has won
four caps, scoring against New Zealand, Bolivia and North Korea. As
part of the deal, United will play a friendly to open the new
Chivas stadium in July.
"I am delighted to reach agreement with Chivas to bring in such
an exciting young striker, who has been in such prolific form for
both his club and his country," Ferguson said. "He will be a great
addition to our squad and we look forward to welcoming our first
Mexican player in the summer."
"I feel like I am living a dream," Hernández told the club's
television station. "All the impressions I have of the club are
good and Sir Alex Ferguson is a great person, maybe the best coach
in the world."
The signing was announced as Wayne Rooney underwent further
tests on the ankle injury he aggravated during the Champions League
quarter-final against Bayern Munich on Wednesday. Rooney had
initially been ruled out of the match and is in danger of missing
Sunday's game at Blackburn Rovers, but Ferguson said he did not
regret rushing him back.
"I never force the medical staff into anything," he said. "It is
important they make the right decisions about players' fitness. And
they made the right decision. The medical staff did not see any
problem."
The Football Association has been monitoring the situation
closely but, despite Fabio Capello's obvious concerns about seeing
his main striker limp off for a second time in eight days,
England's management team are said to understand United's position
and the reasons for playing Rooney. Capello and his medical team
had been aware since last weekend that there was a good chance
Rooney could play and that the injury was nothing like as serious
as Ferguson had portrayed when he ruled the player out for up to
three weeks.
After Wednesday's game Ferguson accused Bayern's players of
deliberately targeting Rooney and he was also angered by the way
they had surrounded the Italian referee, Nicola Rizzoli, to demand
that Rafael da Silva be sent off for a second bookable offence.
United's manager described them as "typical Germans" and the Bayern
president, Uli Hoeness, condemned those comments yesterday.
"When we lost the Champions League against Manchester United in
1999 we lost like gentlemen," Hoeness said. "We were good and fair
losers and I think that's what Manchester should do now. It's an
over-reaction on his part, maybe because he is disappointed to
lose. Normally he is a fine gentleman but I think what he has said
is not right."
