By apparently misquoting Sir Alex Ferguson and claiming he had named Dimi Berbatov as his one and only transfer target this summer, The Sun may have inadvertently succeeded in aiding United's prolonged attempt to sign the £30m-rated striker.
Friday's edition of the newspaper quoted Ferguson declaring that "We have made Tottenham an offer on Berbatov and we have good expectations that this deal will go through. Berbatov has been impressive during a long time and would be a great addition to our attack. We are hoping to have a constructive conversation with Tottenham in the near future."
Those remarks prompted a furious response from Tottenham, with chairman Daniel Levy branding Ferguson a "hypocrite" and making an official complaint against the Premiership champions along with Liverpool over their pursuit of Robbie Keane.
But the saga took an unexpected twist on Saturday night when Ferguson categorically denied speaking to The Sun or naming Berbatov and warned Tottenham that they would be "embarrassed" if they sought action against him.
"It is going to be very embarrassing for Tottenham because they have based their complaint on a story in The Sun. I don't know where they got these quotes from, but it certainly wasn't me," Ferguson said. "I haven't seen [Levy's statement] yet. I have just been given the gist of it by our press officer. But I'm sure our legal people will be looking at it."
It's unclear whether Ferguson was threatening legal redress against Tottenham or The Sun or both, but it would appear that Levy has based his complaint on a story that, even on the day of its publication, was greeted with considerable scepticism, not least by the reporters who confronted the ManYoo boss as he prepared to fly out to South Africa for the next leg of their pre-season preparations. As The Sunday Telegraph notes, 'Ferguson did indeed confirm Manchester United had made a bid for one player and it is a fair guess that he was referring to Berbatov but at no time in his five-minute conversation at Manchester Airport did he mention the striker or Spurs by name.'
While the row is bound to cause relations between United and Tottenham to deteriorate - and Ferguson spoke scathingly of Levy when he spoke at a televised press conference in Cape Town on Saturday night - it may yet play out to United's advantage.
'Unless it can be proved that Ferguson made the comments in dispute, Levy could find himself defending a defamation case,' reports The Sunday Times. 'In all likelihood, the row has strengthened United's chances of signing Berbatov, who joined Spurs in May 2006 for £10.9m. Levy was determined to play hardball over the 27-year-old Bulgarian striker, for whom he is thought to be seeking £30m, but he may have to be more accommodating should he find himself trying to persuade Ferguson not to sue.'
Tottenham, however, remain adamant that they were justified in making their complaint against both Manchester United and Liverpool. "
A 'Tottenham source' told The Sunday Telegraph: "We have a huge amount of evidence. It's got to the point where two clubs feel they are untouchable in terms of ignoring competition rules.
"These two managers have gone on the record publicly without the club giving permission and we now have two disenfranchised players who have had their heads turned. If Ferguson comes out fighting, it's because he has something to be worried about. We told Liverpool to go away and they went after Robbie Keane anyway."
Your Comments
lucasleivia
"i dont care what the journalistic credentials of the sun are... its read by millions and the fact is it was damaging to tottenham whether it was actually said or not and levy has a right to react. I dont think much of the sun infact i wouldnt wipe my arse on it but what is the definition of tapping up if its not a red top with circulation in the millions stating something which everyone knows to be true anyway: that united are trying to buy berbatov... it was damaging to the clubs relationship with the player and this is against the rules, i dont care if it was the sun or saf it definitely wasnt levys fault and he acted correctly in my opinion."
SouthernCross
"Actually Kookye I do think someone like Levy would make a complaint based on a quote from a newspaper, afterall he is the same bloke who agreed to pay 17 mill for Darren Bent, obviously played a very important role in that investment to! Who's the moron? "
sodoff
"I think the real morons here are "the sun" newspaper.... The only thing you can beleive in that newspaper is the price on the front page. "
geomilano
"Levy's complaint does nothing for SAF, Dimi's deal wouldn't change. However, what can Levy do now is get the money and splash the cash on others. Giovanni of Spur doesn't give much impact. If no signing from Spur for striker, £17m rated Darren Bent have to prove his value!"
kookye
"do you morons really think a someone like Levy who also plays a very important role in one of the most successful investment companies in the world would make a complaint based on a quote in a newspaper this prints accurate stories 5% of the time?? get realistic!! in order for the FA to accept the official complaint there would have to be substantial evidence to support it...not just a clipping from the Sun. this is just SAFs way of trying to make Man Utd look like the innocent party (like he always does!) do you really think he's gonna come out and say "yeah, ok, we tapped him up"?! where's Rafa's reaction? he isn't suing. Why? because he knows he's in the wrong. "
jamesc0le
"a huge amount of evidence, means it's more than just the sun article. levy obviously know that manure and berba's agent are illegally discussing a move, and has plenty of evidence to prove it. hope berba goes to spain, and i think he will."
Nicklauski
"Even if Fergie did say anything about Berbatov or Spurs at least they went about it the right way, making an offer for the player. All Madrid have done all summer is say they are going to sign Ronaldo, they have never made an offer and are just foring the player into wanting a move. I think Levy wll end up with egg on his face over the reporting and United will still end up with Berbatov if they wanted him."
daxvondrac
"Oh Lucasleivia, so the Sun put it in quote marks so it must be what Fergie said? You're as big an idiot as Levy. When have the Sun EVER quoted anyone correctly? Journalists from all the major newspapers were there, but only the Sun heard him mention Berbatov by name? Thats means either a) All the other newspaper editors are deaf or b) The Sun is a lying bunch of shysters not worth the cost of the paper its printed on. You decide! "
yiddo08
"Nothing happened to Ferguson with the transfer of Jaap Stam, and even he admitted that he met with United before his club knew."
lucasleivia
"the sun put that quote in speech marks which means it was word for word what ferguson said. the sun is read by millions of people and therfore levy was justified in making his complaint. fergies legal team will have a hard time suing spurs for reacting to a quote from one of the most widely read papers in the uk. I cant believe how duplicitous ferguson can be, after making complaints against madrid and crying to the sympathetic (or pathetic) murdoch press, even though he has used the same tactics for years remember how they treated fulham over the saha transfer. if anyone should be embarassed here its united and if i was a united fan i wouldnt be rushing out to defend saf, let him get on with it but dont defend him in one sentence then have a pop at madrid in the next."
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