Sir Alex Ferguson has once again defended his decision not to join in the frenetic spending of his rivals during the summer. Despite receiving a world record £80million for the sale of Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid, Ferguson has restricted his Manchester United signings to £17million on Antonio Valencia and another £3million to recruit Gabriel Obertan from Bordeaux.

"Pay no attention to the cynics who have suggested our owners have stopped us spending," he told United Review.

"Believe me, it was purely a football decision.

"Maybe it is the Scotsman in me but I believe in value, even when I am spending someone else's money, and the asking price for players we were looking at just wasn't realistic."

"What you must remember is that we are working from a position of strength," said Ferguson.

"We don't suddenly have to splash out to try and compete at the top."