Manchester United players celebrate a goal against Chelsea. PHOTO/File
LONDON, July 3- Former Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon has cautioned Manchester United against filling their side with too many stars, a ploy he says backfired at the Bernabeu.
Much of the success that Manchester United achieved under legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson was built on the back of a team that balanced youth, experience and star players.
However, the Red Devils appear to be moving away from this policy, with Louis van Gaal afforded a considerable transfer kitty during his first season at the helm.
In the build-up to and during 2014/15 campaign, Ander Herrera, Luke Shaw, Angel Di Maria and Daley Blind arrived in Manchester for a combined fee believed to be in the region of £145 million. And that’s a figure which is set to be increased on significantly during the current transfer window.
Dutch international Memphis Depay has already made the move to Old Trafford for a fee of £31m, and the club have made a £28.6m bid for Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos. In addition, United have been linked with moves for Bayern Munich midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger, Valencia defender Nicolas Otamendi and Southampton midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin.
Calderon, who served as Los Blancos president from 2006 to 2009, saw Madrid secure just two titles from 2003 to 2011, despite boasting a team that was packed to the brim with big-name players that included Luis Figo, Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo, Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo – all of whom have been named the world’s best player at some point.
The Spaniard believes that part of the problem with the Los Blancos team during this period was that they had too many stars and that they failed because they “thought it was just a galacticos system and forgot about working hard”.
Calderon feels that United are in danger of losing their balance in the same way.
“It is a matter of results,” Calderon told the BBC. “If you don’t get the titles and you don’t get the victories, the fans are going to be upset and you need to change your policy in some way.
“I don’t know Manchester United’s policy but the right combination is having a mixture of very good players and working with the younger ones that are already with you.”
