Keen to create a divide between Cristiano Ronaldo and his current employer, Spanish paper Marca are stirring things up extracting some insinuations from an interview with teammate Ryan Giggs.
The Welshman was asked to pick his Manchester Utd dream team, and he proceeded to wax lyrical about the likes of Paul Scholes, Gary Neville and Wayne Rooney. As you can see from his selection below, however, there is a distinct absence of any lothario Portuguese wingers:
The Giggs Manchester Utd dream team
Schmeichel or Van der Sar (he doesn’t distinguish between them as both are super brill) Gary Neville
Jaap Stam
Rio Ferdinand
Dennis Irwin
David Beckham
Paul Scholes
Roy Keane
Ryan Giggs
Eric Cantona
Wayne Rooney
The Spoiler is concerned that the old guard has shown an apparent lack of appreciation for Ronaldo, but perhaps a little more concerned that Giggsy chose to pick himself in his own dream team…
Fergie thinks the Chelsea pensioners haven’t got a chance
In the latest of his pre-season mind games, Alex Ferguson has accused the Chelsea squad of being too old to compete with his spritely team this season:
“When you see the ages they’ve got, apart from Salomon Kalou [who is 22] and Mikel John Obi [21], they are an experienced side. I’m not saying necessarily that they’re old because, with the modern-day training methods, you should be playing in your thirties. What I am saying is that I don’t see outstanding progress in a team that’s in their thirties.”
So there you have it. Manchester Utd, whose squad includes Edwin van der Sar (37), Gary Neville (33), Ryan Giggs (34) and Paul Scholes (33) are destined to claim another Premiership title because the likes of Frank Lampard (30), Michael Ballack (31) and Deco (30) are getting on a bit.
It’s also worth noting the average ages of the starting lineups of the Champions League final - Manchester Utd’s was 27.45, while Chelsea’s (which included 35-year-old Calude Makelele) was just 28.45.
So, should some members of the Chelsea squad head off to the MLS retirement home (the football equivalent of Bournemouth), or do you side with deceased hip hop starlet Aaliyah in her sentiment ‘Age ain’t nothing but a number’? Votes and comments below, please.
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