United adamant that Heinze will not be leaving to join Liverpool

Oliver Kay in Seoul

Gabriel Heinze’s prospects of walking the treacherous path from Manchester United to Liverpool appeared to be shattered yesterday when Sir Alex Ferguson revealed that an offer of £6.8 million from the Merseyside club had been rejected out of hand. David Gill, the chief executive, went even further, saying that United will never do business with Liverpool, or, indeed, Arsenal or Chelsea.

Liverpool had faxed a bid to United earlier this week with a view to making Heinze the first senior player to move between the North West rivals since Phil Chisnall left Old Trafford in 1964. Rafael BenÍtez, the Liverpool manager, was certain that the bid would be accepted because of the existence of a letter in which United appeared to authorise the Argentina defender’s agent, Roberto Rodriguez, to seek a fee of €10 million [about £6.8 million] for his services.

Yesterday in Seoul, where United are on their preseason tour, Gill acknowledged the letter, but said that it was made clear to Rodriguez that the player would not be allowed to join Liverpool, Arsenal or Chelsea.

“On Monday night, we received a written offer and it was a significant offer,” Gill said. “We’ve rejected that because it’s Liverpool. We wouldn’t sell to Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea. “We gave an indication of the value to the player and we made it clear to the agent – not in the letter but in the meeting – that we wouldn’t allow a sale to any of our domestic rivals. It’s all subject to a contract anyway, so what does a letter mean?”

Ferguson accused Rodriguez of unsettling the player. “Heinze’s agents are rolling the ball all the time,” the United manager said. “This has been going on for a year and a half now. But we are in the driving seat. I can assure you he will not be going to Liverpool. We can put that to bed right now.”

Gill added that, although Juan Sebastián Verón, the Argentina midfield player, was allowed to join Chelsea in 2003, United will not again sell a player to their principal domestic rivals. It is an unashamedly tribal approach facilitated because United are now under the ownership of the Glazer family, as is Gill’s apparent ambivalence about the possibility of losing Heinze for no fee when his contract expires in 2009.

“We haven’t thought about [losing Heinze for no fee],” Gill said. “If that happens, that happens. That comes down to a difference in being a private company rather than a public company. If we were a public company, it might be a different decision, but we don’t have some of those pressures now. We’re not desperate to sell.”

In some ways, Heinze’s situation mirrors that of Carlos Tévez, his fellow Argentinian, who is actively pursuing a transfer to Old Trafford from West Ham United. Gill reiterated his confidence that a deal for Tévez would be completed by the end of August, emphasising United’s belief that the player is free to terminate his contract with West Ham. But the East London club issued an angry statement yesterday, saying that “a transfer of a properly registered player cannot occur without agreement between two clubs and the Premier League”, pointing the finger at Kia Joorabchian, the businessman who brought the striker to Upton Park last August and owns his economic rights.

United take on FC Seoul today in their next tour friendly, with Owen Hargreaves again missing because of a knee problem that is causing concern among Ferguson’s staff. Alan Smith is likely to figure in the match, but his future at United appears increasingly bleak, with the manager saying that the forward’s opportunities will be limited, particularly if Tévez arrives.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premiership/article2106533.ece