Manchester United 'stonewalled' by Arsenal over Van Persie transfer
Manchester United legend Sir Alex Ferguson has spoken out regarding his frustration....
15:54 09 August 2012
Manchester United legend Sir Alex Ferguson has spoken out regarding his frustration as his team have been blocked by Arsenal over a transfer bid to sign Robin van Persie from the rival team.
Ferguson revealed on United's recent tour of South Africa that they had put forward a formal bid for last season's Premier League Golden Boot winner, while Manchester City and Juventus also appear keen.
While United may be on the top of heap for a bid, Arsene Wenger has never sold a player to the 'Red Devils'.
Ferguson spoke to reporters just after United lost a penalty shoot-out to Barcelona in Gothenburg. He said: "We have made a bid and they've been trying to negotiate with other clubs.
"I don't have a gut feeling on it at the moment, I must admit. We're not getting any breakthrough with Arsenal. It's difficult to say why they're operating this way.
"I don't know what their thoughts are because they're not giving anything away.
"I can't give you any more information. We just have to persevere. We are trying our best and hopefully it will come our way but there's no progress at this moment in time."
Transfer-wise, it's not a good patch for United. They just discovered that Brazilian midfielder Lucas Moura had defected to Paris Saint-Germain.
Veteran Ferguson also revealed to the press that the figures commanded astound him. The Independent picked up on the quote: "I find it quite amazing that a club can pay 45million euros for a 19-year-old boy.
"To tell everyone that PSG are here they've signed Thiago Silva and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. They must have spent about £150million in the last month. The only deterrent to that is UEFA.
"In the conditions of European football, you don't qualify for Europe by winning the league or coming second - you only get in by invitation. That's where, hopefully, UEFA can have some power.
"When somebody's paying £45million for a 19-year-old boy you have to say the game's gone mad."