Sir Alex Ferguson has admitted that it might be difficult to compete with the "silly" wages that Manchester City can offer Eden Hazard.
A transfer war is set to break out between the two rivals after the £30m-rated Belgian wonderkid revealed that he has decided on a move to Manchester, without naming which club he will be joining.
However, Ferguson fears that the Red Devils cannot match the Citizens' financial clout when it comes to the 21-year-old's reported £200,000-per-week demands.
"We know that City are going to spend a fortune, pay stupid money, pay silly salaries and all that," said the Scot. "We know that happens. We can't do anything about that.
"We concentrate on what we can do to try to bring players in for the right reasons. We invest in young players. That is what we are good at - we're not like other clubs who can spend fortunes on proven goods."
Hazard has scored 17 goals for Lille this season.
Michael Penkman
