Former Manchester City star Gary Owen has hit out at Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson for complaining about City's transfer spending.

Ferguson blamed City and their Abu Dhabi riches for causing the "insane" market as the local and national balance of power shifted.

But Owen said: "It seems ­Fergie has a short memory ­because City didn't create what he calls the stupid transfer market - United did by raising the bar so often in the past.

"They have broken the transfer record on a number of occasions, ­including spending £30m on a defender, Rio Ferdinand, 10 years ago. That's still a huge fee today. They paid premium prices for the likes of Andy Cole, Michael Carrick and Wayne Rooney and spent a lot more on signings last summer, and that's what we all have to do to achieve success.

"United have won so many ­trophies over so many years ­because of Alex Ferguson and their investment in players. Chelsea raised the bar again and City have had to do likewise to compete."