Man Utd Transfer News: Ferguson Would Have Signed World Class Player, Says Phelan

Manchester United would not have failed to sign a world class player over the summer had the old regime remained in charge, former assistant manager Mike Phelan has suggested. Legendary boss Sir Alex Ferguson took the decision to retire earlier this year, allowing David Moyes, formerly of Everton, to take over the reigns. With chief executive David Gill also vacating his post, and Moyes bringing in his own backroom team, this summer has been a huge period of transition for the Red Devils. Transfer plans were hindered as a result, with the club's only senior signing being Marouane Fellaini while other, bigger targets slipped through the net. And Phelan, who stepped down from his role alongside Ferguson, has strongly hinted the English champions would have landed a player like Gareth Bale, Cesc Fabregas or Cristiano Ronaldo under other circumstances. According to Team Talk, he told a Scandinavian United supporters' club magazine:

"If Sir Alex and David Gill had still been the bosses, I won't name the player, but there would have been a star signing, one of the absolute best players in the world."

Phelan stopped short of directly naming the former United hero Ronaldo, who made 292 appearances for the Reds and scored 118 goals during his six-season stay between 2003-09, but he added:

"It was something the boss talked about, and the owners and David Gill were also quite clear on doing it. "There's very few of such players out there. I think it's clear to everybody who I'm talking about."

United were heavily linked with Ronaldo over the summer, until the forward penned a new contract with Madrid until 2018. When announcing his new deal, the former FIFA World Player of the Year remarked:

"Manchester United is the past. Real Madrid is now my home. I hope that I'm here until I retire. This is a great club."

Ronaldo left United for a then-world-transfer-record £80 million in 2009.