Manchester: Sir Alex Ferguson believes the individual fees paid to agents should be made public to show the “ridiculous” amounts they can receive.
Ferguson’s former Manchester United captain, Gary Neville, used his Mail on Sunday column last week to call for an independent inquiry into the role of agents and for transparency regarding payments from the players they represent.
Ferguson said: “I think most clubs have to make it transparent. Individually? I don’t know how we could apply that. I don’t see it doing any harm. It might highlight to the public how ridiculous it can be for some agents to make the money they do. But I don’t think that will ever change. Once there’s a transfer window, agents will make money. They are there and they are not going away I’m afraid. We’d like to see them go away but that won’t happen.”
United host Real in the second leg of the Champions League last-16 in two weeks with the tie poised at 1-1 following the opening match at the Bernabeu. With Milan beating Barcelona 2-0 at San Siro on Wednesday evening Ferguson believes there are now many clubs with a chance of winning the trophy this year.
“It’s a very open competition,” he said. “I fancied Milan they’ve played Barca quite a lot of times and never been steamrollered. They’ve all been tight games. I look at the AC Milan team now and they’re all young lads apart from [Massimo] Ambrosini [who is 35]. I thought they’d do well.
“Bayern have always had capable and competent teams anyway. I thought last year they should have won the final. They had a lot of chances. They lost on pens to Chelsea. I think the dark horse is definitely Dortmund. Their European form has been good. I don’t [think] they are paying too much attention to the league. You’ve got the two Spanish teams, Bayern, Dortmund and Milan. It’s a really tough competition this year.
“They’ll be exciting games. If we qualify against Madrid we will definitely come into the same bracket.”
— Guardian News & Media Ltd.
