Manchester Utd set transfer age limit

Manchester United are bringing in a under-26 only transfer policy as they search the world looking to unearth a new gem to replace the departed Cristiano Ronaldo. The change in policy suggests that the Old Trafford club won't be bidding for Franck Ribery, despite reports from Bayern Munich to the contrary.

The long-term decision to only track players who could attract a large resale fee when they leave the club will disappoint fans, who will feel that it is a triumph of the business sense of the Old Trafford hierarchy over the football decisions of Sir Alex Ferguson.

Ferguson was known to admire Ribery, 26, although Manchester United yesterday denied claims from Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, the Bayern chairman, that they had made a bid for the French international. The age limit would explain why Ferguson is running the rule over Douglas Costa, an 18-year-old attacking midfielder from Gremio who is valued at £20m.

WHAT THEY ARE SAYING
Daniel Taylor, the Guardian: "Dimitar Berbatov, who was 27 when he signed from Tottenham Hotspur last September, has been described as the 'last of his kind'. Instead, the policy from now onwards is that the club will have a strict age-before-ability approach in which they will sign players in big-money deals only if they will retain a significant market value some years after signing a five- or six-year contract. Karim Benzema, the Lyon striker, would fit into their strategy, being 21. United's thinking is that Ribery would cost close to £60m and have no significant resale value. The same policy applies to David Villa, the outstanding Valencia striker who is on the market at the age of 27 for a fee of around £45m, as well as the man who scored the first goal against United in the Champions League final, Barcelona's 28-year-old forward Samuel Eto'o. Both are ruled out unless there is a rethink at Old Trafford."

Ian Herbert, the Independent: "Ferguson and the United chief executive, David Gill, are understood to have reached an agreement with their club's owners, the Glazer family, that the poor resale value of players purchased on five-year deals in their late 20s militates in favour of buying younger. The model supports the pursuit of Lyons' 21-year-old striker Benzema, who is a perfect fit: a player in his early 20s with proven pedigree at the highest level. Another in the same age bracket as Benzema when United hired him was Michael Carrick, who was 24 when he arrived from Tottenham Hotspur in 2006 and his development into a profoundly influential player for Ferguson is regarded by him and Gill as the model United are striving for." ·