Andy Gray says Sir Alex Ferguson will need to sign three or four players to replace Cristiano Ronaldo.
Ronaldo is going - but that doesn't mean Tevez will stay
Andy Gray believes Sir Alex Ferguson will need to sign three or four players to replace Cristiano Ronaldo.
Manchester United have given Real Madrid permission to talk to the FIFA World Player of the Year after accepting an £80million bid from the Spanish giants on Thursday morning.
And while the deal has not come as a shock, Gray believes Ferguson now faces a huge test to fill the hole left in his squad by the Portugal international.
The likes of Karim Benzema and Antonio Valencia have been linked with moves to old Trafford, but Gray told
Sky Sports News that Ferguson will be looking to spend the Ronaldo transfer fee on up to four new players.
"You can't lose the world's best footballer and not suffer somehow," he said.
"There is nothing like him out there and available for Sir Alex Ferguson to buy.
"He's a one-off, so whether it's £80million or whatever, Sir Alex will use the money wisely to buy perhaps three, maybe four players to make the squad and the team a better one.
"There's no single individual he could buy; maybe Kaka who he won't get now because Real Madrid have got him - and of course Lionel Messi who Barcelona wouldn't dream of selling.
"It's a case of Sir Alex thinking long and hard about this and making the decision for the benefit of Manchester United and no-one else.
"By the first week of August I'm sure Sir Alex will have invested pretty much all of the money he's going to get for Cristiano Ronaldo and we might see changes.
"There's talk of Karim Benzema from Lyon coming in, a fantastically gifted footballer who would make United very, very strong.
"We also don't know about whether Antonio Valencia from Wigan will end up at United. Would he make them stronger? I don't know.
"If United weren't bringing anybody in and were going into the season with the same squad without Ronaldo then there's absolutely no doubt they'll be weaker.
"But there's no doubt that by August 15, plenty of this money will have been spent by Sir Alex Ferguson on two, three or possibly four footballers."
Tevez deal
United have been stalling over a permanent deal for popular striker Carlos Tevez, whose loan deal at United expired at the end of last season.
But despite the potential windfall from the sale of Ronaldo, Gray is not convinced that Ferguson wants to pay over the odds for the Argentinean.
He added: "I think United over the last two years have had a good look at Carlos Tevez and Sir Alex is wondering if the outlay is worth what they're going to get from him.
"He's a massive favourite for the Old Trafford faithful, we know that. They love him for his work-rate and for his ability to never give in - but is he really, really, top bracket? Sir Alex Ferguson will have to work that one out for himself.
"I think there's a question mark over that deal."
Galacticos
The world record bid for Ronaldo comes just days after Real Madrid confirmed the signing of another superstar footballer, Kaka from AC Milan
However, Gray questioned the transfer policy of Real president Florentino Perez, insisting that the team needs reinforcements defensively if they want to challenge for top honors.
"You can buy Kaka, you can buy Ronaldo but you then can't stop letting goals in at the other end," he said.
"I still think the biggest problem is defensively where they were shocking last season. Liverpool put them to the sword, Barcelona put them to the sword and that had nothing to do with their attacking ability.
"Ronaldo and Kaka are not going to improve that and there is a danger that Florentino Perez will build a side of Galacticos like they did many, many years ago.
"Yes, it was wonderful, vibrant, entertaining and very Harlem Globetrotter-ish - but the single thing they mustn't forget is that the best defences normally win the best things.
"I just think that unless they sort the back end of the team out, they can buy as many frontmen as they like but it doesn't really make any difference.
"They will be better and stronger of course with the addition of these two incredible footballers, but those two footballers are not going to do an awful lot defensively for their team."
