Fergie won't kowtow to Heinze's Liverpool move

MACAO: Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson confirmed his opposition to defender Gabriel Heinze's move to Liverpool on Monday.

He also said he was unhappy with the conduct of Heinze's agent in a seeming escalation of the dispute between the two Premier League rivals over the 29-year-old Argentine.

Ferguson was speaking at a news conference after United beat Shenzhen Xiangxue 6-0 on the third leg of their Asian tour.

"There's certainly not been any change in our stance on it, he won't be going to Liverpool as far as I'm concerned, and I think matters should rest there," said Ferguson.

He was responding to comments made earlier in the day by Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez who said he was confident the deal with Heinze would go through.

Ferguson said United would now examine statements to try and determine when first contact was made between Heinze's agent and Liverpool and whether there had been any impropriety.

"We're not happy with the agent's conduct in the matter," Ferguson added.

No player has been transferred directly between the two northwest clubs since Phil Chisnall left Old Trafford for Anfield in 1964.

Benitez confirmed Liverpool had made a bid to the English champions for Heinze for a reported 7.0 million pounds ($14.40 million).

"We made the offer and they rejected the offer. And ok, now the lawyers are working, we need to wait," Benitez told reporters in Hong Kong, where Liverpool are taking part in a week-long tournament.

"It's clear he's a player that we like and he's a good player," Benitez added.

While Liverpool were in Hong Kong, United were not all that far away in Macau, where they strolled to an easy win over their Chinese opponents.

New Portugese signing Nani got on the scoresheet on his debut, which drew plaudits from his manager.

"He's got a goal so it's a good start for him," said Ferguson, who also praised his team's overall performance.

Skipper Ryan Giggs also scored, as did crowd favourites Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney, who deftly chipped the keeper from the edge of the area with a superbly-taken effort.

Chris Eagles struck home a sweet volley from over 30 meters while John O'Shea also found the net.

The only setback so far for United on their Asian tour has been a knee injury for Paul Scholes which will rule the midfielder out of the start of next season.

United will complete their tour on Friday with their fourth and final match against Guangzhou.

Agencies

(China Daily 07/25/2007 page23)