Manchester United have allowed striker Manucho to join Spanish side Real Valladolid on a five-year deal.

The Angolan international, 26, failed to establish himself at Old Trafford, making just one Premier League appearance during his 18-month stay.

Manucho was initially loaned out to Panathinaikos in Greece and spent the second half of last season at Hull.

Despite enjoying moderate success at Hull he found himself surplus to requirements at United.

Former assistant manager Carlos Queiroz first alerted United to Manucho and the forward was handed a three-year contract after a brief trial period in December 2007.

However his application for a work permit was only granted in August last year and in the interim he was farmed out to Greece.

His United debut finally came as a late replacement for Ryan Giggs in a League Cup win over Middlesbrough last September.

His only Premier League appearance was also as a substitute against Stoke two months later.

Prior to joining United, he was the top goalscorer in the Angolan League for two seasons running with Petro Luanda.

Carlos Tevez: I chose Manchester City over Real Madrid

Manchester City's new £25m striker Carlos Tevez has revealed he rejected the chance to join former Manchester United team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo at Real Madrid.

Tevez, who signing a five-year contract with City following a two-year loan spell at rivals United, said the Spanish giants had been interested in recruiting him but Eastlands proved preferable to the Bernabeu.

"Real made an offer but there was no agreement," the Argentina striker told the Nation newspaper during a promotional visit to Abu Dhabi with City.

"There were talks about deals and agreements but in the end it was only City. They showed lots of interest in me and are intent on growing and signing big players.

"I am sad to leave United but I am excited to join City. I'm thinking about the future and I will grow with this club."

Meanwhile, City owner Sheikh Mansour has constructed a multimillion-pound warm-weather training facility in Abu Dhabi so that his club can enjoy a winter break in the sun.

Their first visit is set for November 12 to play against the United Arab Emirates national team.

Meanwhile, Gareth Barry has hit back at accusations his move to City was motivated by money and claimed the club's recent acquisitions have justified his decision.

Barry left Aston Villa to join City in a £12m switch at the start of last month after snubbing long-standing interest from Liverpool.

Reds boss Rafael Benitez criticised the decision, suggesting it was taken due to "money, money, money".

But England midfielder Barry claims the recent signings of Roque Santa Cruz and Carlos Tevez prove he was right to move to Eastlands.

"I think there was maybe a bit of frustration (from Benitez) because it was well documented that Liverpool were in the market to sign me for a couple of years," he said on Friday.

"But Manchester City had agreed a fee with Aston Villa.

"Once I'd spoken to the manager, heard the ambition and he told me what the club were aiming for, that suited me.

"People can talk about the money because of the speculation in the media but the players that are now joining are proving my decision to be a correct one.

"These are players that are really going to improve Manchester City and take us to where we want to go."

Barry was speaking on City's pre-season tour of South Africa with the first game coming on Saturday afternoon against the Orlando Pirates.

He added: "I think all the players are delighted to be here in South Africa.

"We've just come back from holidays and we're mainly focusing on fitness over here.

"We see the two games against the big clubs over here as part of building up towards the start of the Premier League.

"We know the standard of the football here is very high, so we'll be having a big test and as I said, building towards the start of our own league."

Carlos Tevez: I chose Manchester City over Real Madrid

Manchester City's new £25m striker Carlos Tevez has revealed he rejected the chance to join former Manchester United team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo at Real Madrid.

Tevez, who signing a five-year contract with City following a two-year loan spell at rivals United, said the Spanish giants had been interested in recruiting him but Eastlands proved preferable to the Bernabeu.

"Real made an offer but there was no agreement," the Argentina striker told the Nation newspaper during a promotional visit to Abu Dhabi with City.

"There were talks about deals and agreements but in the end it was only City. They showed lots of interest in me and are intent on growing and signing big players.

"I am sad to leave United but I am excited to join City. I'm thinking about the future and I will grow with this club."

Meanwhile, City owner Sheikh Mansour has constructed a multimillion-pound warm-weather training facility in Abu Dhabi so that his club can enjoy a winter break in the sun.

Their first visit is set for November 12 to play against the United Arab Emirates national team.

Meanwhile, Gareth Barry has hit back at accusations his move to City was motivated by money and claimed the club's recent acquisitions have justified his decision.

Barry left Aston Villa to join City in a £12m switch at the start of last month after snubbing long-standing interest from Liverpool.

Reds boss Rafael Benitez criticised the decision, suggesting it was taken due to "money, money, money".

But England midfielder Barry claims the recent signings of Roque Santa Cruz and Carlos Tevez prove he was right to move to Eastlands.

"I think there was maybe a bit of frustration (from Benitez) because it was well documented that Liverpool were in the market to sign me for a couple of years," he said on Friday.

"But Manchester City had agreed a fee with Aston Villa.

"Once I'd spoken to the manager, heard the ambition and he told me what the club were aiming for, that suited me.

"People can talk about the money because of the speculation in the media but the players that are now joining are proving my decision to be a correct one.

"These are players that are really going to improve Manchester City and take us to where we want to go."

Barry was speaking on City's pre-season tour of South Africa with the first game coming on Saturday afternoon against the Orlando Pirates.

He added: "I think all the players are delighted to be here in South Africa.

"We've just come back from holidays and we're mainly focusing on fitness over here.

"We see the two games against the big clubs over here as part of building up towards the start of the Premier League.

"We know the standard of the football here is very high, so we'll be having a big test and as I said, building towards the start of our own league."

Why Has Manchester United Resigned Itself To Being Outspent?

Sir Alex Ferguson has a practical take on morality. Anything benefitting Manchester United is right. Anything hindering Manchester United is wrong. With Manchester City and Real Madrid suddenly able to outbid Manchester United for players. It should surprise no one that the grizzled Scot spoke out for the little man.

“I said a year ago, when they [the Abu Dhabi United Group] took over at City, that this was possible,” Ferguson said. “Some of the values across the world now are amazing; the numbers that get tossed about. The values of players have shot sky high. I don’t think any of the [big] transfers this summer are realistic but for some reason it has caught fire this summer. It’s an unusual summer and it’s very difficult to get value because of that.”

“We went in for Benzema but, as far as we were concerned, the price tag was beyond his value. If other clubs want to go to that level, that’s entirely their business. We had a value that we thought was fair and we didn’t want to go above that position. Maybe Lyon thought we under-valued him and that’s fine, it’s their decision. They got €42m for him and they will be happy with that because they have done well. All this tells you about us is that we are sensible.”

Ferguson discusses “sensible” spending, but under his tenure at Manchester United, that has always meant spending superior resources to crush the opposition. Let’s look at this decade.

United signed Ruud Van Nistelrooy for a club record £19m in 2001. Later that year, he smashed that record by bringing in Juan Sebastian Veron for £28.1m.

Ferguson broke the transfer record again in 2002, spending £29m for Rio Ferdinand.

In 2004, the club spent £25.6m for Wayne Rooney.

United signed Michael Carrick from Tottenham for £18.6m in 2006, and spent £17m on Owen Hargreaves the next summer.

In 2008, Ferguson broke the club’s transfer record again spending £30.75m on striker Dimitar Berbatov.

When Ferguson wants a player, Manchester United overspends with superior financial resources to get him. It is hypocritical to criticize other clubs, which finally have more financial resources than United, for doing so.

It is interesting that Manchester United are resigned to being outbid for players. They have had two extended Champions League runs the past two seasons and received an £80m windfall from the Ronaldo transfer. If all was well, there should be plenty of cash available.

Is this truly Ferguson, who shows no track record of doing so, finally being “sensible,” or is the tremendous debt foisted on the club by Malcolm Glazer starting to affect the club’s finances?

Ronaldo does not have star mentality, says Real coach

Real Madrid coach Manuel Pellegrini says Portuguese winger Cristiano Ronaldo, who the Spanish giants signed for a record 94 million euros, does not have a star mentality.

AFP - Real Madrid coach Manuel Pellegrini says Portuguese winger Cristiano Ronaldo, who the Spanish giants signed for a record 94 million euros, does not have a star mentality.

"He''s as I expected him to be. He is the first to arrive at a training session, he has fully integrated into the squad, he doesn''t act as a star," he said Sunday during his first post-training press conference as Real''s new coach.

"He is a very talented but normal player who is devoted to Real Madrid. His image is very different to how he is as a player."

Real signed the player from Manchester United last month on a six-year deal worth around 94 million euros (131 million dollars) and he will reportedly be paid 13 million euros each season, making him the most expensive player in the world.

The 24-year-old was officially unveiled before some 75,000 ecstatic Real fans on July 6 at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium.

He had to be hurried away when spectators leapt over security barriers to try to get an autograpah.

Real has spent over 200 million euros in the pre-season to sign new talent, including Brazilian playmaker Kaka and French international striker Karim Benzema.

Pellegrini said he hopes the squad will be completed by the end of the month.

"The sooner the better. July 27 would be good because that''s when all our internationals return," he said when asked for an ideal date to have his squad finalised.

"But I''m not bothered about waiting a while longer if there are any doubts concerning a signing. There''s no deadline. I know what I want, but I''m not looking to have it for our first pre-season match," he added.

The Chilean coach said recruiting Spanish international Xabi Alonso from Liverpool would not be easy.

"There aren''t any players we can''t do without. He is an important footballer and it is no mystery that Real want to sign him, but it won''t be easy," Pellegrini said.

He also denied Spanish press reports that Real want to unload its entire contingent of six Dutch players, including Ruud van Nistelrooy and Wesley Sneijder.

"It''s not true that all the Dutch players are going to leave as has been reported in the media," he said.

He called Sneijder "a very good player", adding "our game could benefit from having him".

Real will face Deportivo La Coruna at home on the weekend of August 29-30 in their first league match of the new season.

Real Madrid Now Overtaking Manchester United's Class

Manchester United may be the defending Champions of English football, but their makeup is nothing compared to the makeup of their biggest European rivals, Real Madrid.

Comparing a lineup that has Raul, Gonzalo Higuain, Karim Benzema, Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka, Raul Albiol, Pepe, Sergio Ramos, Wesley Sneijder, and Arjen Robben to Manchester's Michael Owen, Antonio Valencia, Darren Fletcher, Wayne Rooney, Rio Ferdinand, and Nemanja Vidic is like comparing mangoes to apples.

Both are popular fruits, but the mango proves to be the softer and sweeter of the two.

Manchester United would have to be the apple in this equation, but Real Madrid's captivating summer spree already has bookmakers, pundits, and fans alike thinking La Liga titles and possibly Champions League success are in store.

For now, we will solely focus on Madrid and Manchester out of respect to Barcelona...or not, depending on how you read into it.

Real Madrid look like a team that could do wonders in La Liga and elsewhere for seasons to come, with addition of France's top forward Benzema and Manchester United's winger Ronaldo coming into the fold.

Ronaldo glowingly spoke of Kaka and Benzema respectively, stating that he can't wait to link up with his new teammates and believes he'll garner more success at Madrid than he garnered at Manchester during his entire six seasons there.

Benzema is the latest French prodigy to have left France while yet to come of age, and at a tender age of 21, he is already drawing comparisons to French scoring legend Just Fontaine, who led France in the 1958 World Cup with an astonishing 13 goals in the tournament—a feat still not broken till this day.

Manchester United, on the other hand, still have Rooney and Ferdinand to lead the charges, but it's a far cry from the team that competed for the Champions League trophy this past season for sure.

Expectations are that Manchester will stumble out of the gate, with the absence of Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez a major factor. New signings Valencia and Owen will not make up for Ronaldo's quickness and goal-scoring abilities, but they should nevertheless provide a good cover up front.

However, one would have to look at Manchester City across the road and wonder if City, not United, can actually make a real challenge for the Premiership honors this season.

Manchester City have a richness of young talent coming up through the ranks from its academy, not to mention top quality players such as Robinho, Gareth Barry, Roque Santa Cruz, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Stephen Ireland, Vincent Kompany, and Nigel De Jong on the starting 11.

So it would be easy to say that Manchester City have the easier road ahead for next season, not Manchester United. All Manchester City need to do is to bring up their young talent while meshing the current makeup of the senior together and, if necessary, hire a more experienced and better quality manager.

Mark Hughes is a good fit, but I wouldn't bet my money on this man to carry Manchester City to the next level. A good test of that would a dream City versus Madrid matchup.

Perhaps if City were to come across a team like Real and Barcelona and compete against those teams evenly, then City supporters could have every right to boast about their club's chances.

United supporters ironically don't have that luxury for now, since the club suddenly is realizing that it doesn't have a Ronaldo or Robinho, or an Ireland or even Tevez—a sad twist of luck if you ask the average Joe.

Whether Manchester United, like Real Madrid, can maintain its dominant form into the next season remains to be seen, but my money is squarely now on Real Madrid to reach the pinnacle of success.

At home and abroad. Football-wise and marketing-wise as well. No exceptions.

Cristiano Ronaldo: I'm worth more than £80m Real Madrid paid Manchester United

Cristiano Ronaldo, never a man prone to humility, believes he is worth more than the £80 million Real Madrid paid for him, though recognises that he owes Manchester United and Sir Alex Ferguson a great deal for making him the player he is today.

Around 85,000 people turned out at the Bernabeu earlier this week to witness the unveiling of the world’s most expensive player and the club shop has been doing brisk trade with Ronaldo-branded merchandise flying off the shelves – legally and other wise.

The adulation sits comfortably with Ronaldo, who is unlikely to feel the pressure of an unprecedented price tag.

“Of course the club can pay £80m for me. Or more. I think I’m worth more,” said Ronaldo.

“Everyone says ‘no’ but I say ‘yes’. Somebody will have to evaluate me.”

Ronaldo has long yearned to wear the white strip of Real and insists it was always his decision to leave Manchester for Madrid.

“In reality I chose where I wanted to play,” Ronaldo told the Sun. “I was in Manchester for six years and I owe them everything that I am now.

“In Manchester I made history and won many titles. They knew a year ago what I wanted.

“That’s why things happened now. It was a pleasure for me to play at Old Trafford but now a new chapter in my life begins at the Bernabeu with new challenges. I wanted to play for this club and for that reason I’m here.

“I’m used to speculation. I could have signed for Madrid in 2008 but I belonged to Manchester.”

Ronaldo, still only 24, also believes that the move to Spain will only see him develop as a player.

“I’m less selfish than I used to be,” he said. “Four years ago, I always tried to make the play and finish it off myself by scoring.

“But experience makes you understand that playing in a team and being a team player is what helps you achieve the big objectives.

"Madrid will see the best of Cristiano.”

Manchester United Leading Race For Real Madrid's Huntelaar

With Milan apparently no longer interested, the stage is set for the Red Devils to capture 'The Hunter'...

Manchester United are leading the race to sign Klaas-Jan Huntelaar from Real Madrid, after Milan decided to focus all their attentions on Luis Fabiano.

Huntelaar has fallen well down the pecking order at Madrid in the midst of their summer spending, a fact that has not gone unnoticed around Europe.

According to The Sun, Man United are now ready to swoop, with Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani having recently declared his preference for Fabiano.

Huntelaar has scored eight times during his 20 appearances at the Bernabeu, and is keen to sort his future out as soon as possible.

It is thought that United would have to pay in excess of the €23 million that Madrid payed for Huntelaar to land the Dutch striker from Ajax in Janaury.