Ferguson content without Sneijder

Sir Alex Ferguson claims Inter Milan’s Wesley Sneijder was not what Manchester United were looking for in the recent transfer period.

Dutch international Sneijder was heavily linked with a big-money move to Old Trafford as a replacement for midfielder Paul Scholes.

However, United manager Ferguson believes that despite being an impressive player, Sneijder cannot be compared to the recently retired Scholes.

“Sneijder is not the ideal replacement for Scholes. He is a fantastic player, but not what we were looking for. Only Xavi and (Andres) Iniesta can be compared to Scholes,” Ferguson told Il Corriere dello Sport.

Ferguson, who turns 70 in December, also made it clear that he has no plans to retire as United manager.

Almost a decade after planning to step down from the role, the Scotsman will record 25 years in charge of the English Premier League giants on November 6.

A host of candidates have been linked with the post, but Ferguson believes it is too hard to predict who will be his successor.

“Over the years I’ve had the question who do I think could replace me? Now in those years, some of the coaches they were talking about to replace me don’t have jobs anymore,” he told Italian media at an awards ceremony in Rome

“So it becomes very difficult because someone who I think has potential may be sacked by his club and disappear.”

“I think you would need someone very experienced in the long term. But I have absolutely no idea … first of all, I’m not retiring.”