Ferguson won’t pay ‘ridiculous’ £72 million for Modric, Tiote and Baines

London : Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson will not pay 72 million pounds for Tottenham Hotspurs midfielder Luka Modric, Everton defender Leighton Baines and Newcastle United midfielder Cheick Tiote this summer, according to a well placed Old Trafford source.

Ferguson has refused to meet the 32 million pound valuation of Modric or pay the 20 million pound price quoted for Baines and Tiote as he seeks to keep costs at Old Trafford manageable. “We have made inquiries for all three players. But Sir Alex will not be paying these ridiculous fees,” sources said. Ferguson has left for his annual break in France, and will wait while considering other options for rebuilding the squad that was second best to Manchester City in the title race. However, his stance leaves the way clear for other clubs and Chelsea are poised to step in for Tiote. Roman Abramovich, encouraged by his club’s Champions League victory, is willing to pay the asked 20 million pound for Tiote as he looks to build on their European success. ANI