After the incredible debut that saw 17 year old Federico “Kiko” Macheda score an injury time winner against Aston Villa at the weekend, Lazio President Claudio Lotito has hit out at Manchester United over the signing of the youngster a day after his 16th birthday and the ruling that Italian clubs aren’t allowed to sign players under 18.

Via TimesOnline

Manchester United have been accused of “bribing” the parents of Federico Macheda and turning football into a “cattle market”. Claudio Lotito, the Lazio president, is outraged at the manner in which he claims the Barclays Premier League champions lured the Italian teenager to Old Trafford.

Lotito has called for a change to the rules that prevent Italian clubs from tying a player under the age of 18 to a contract, claiming that United acted unethically when they signed Macheda from Lazio’s youth academy in August 2007, the day after his 16th birthday.

United said that they would “not dignify such claims with a response” and there are no suggestions of any rule breaking on their part.

“It is unthinkable and unacceptable that a 15-year-old should be bought as if we were at a cattle market,” Lotito said. “They get the parents on board, giving them handsome compensation, offering them important jobs, which shouldn’t happen, because with a 15-year-old it’s unthinkable that a club should give millions of euros to his parents, practically buying the parents, and this is a real problem.

“The parents sign on behalf of the players. Normally these are kids who come from not very well-off families and on the back of their economic situation they are incentivised to find alternative economic situations.

“We tried in every way to stop Manchester United from taking our players, but the present Italian regulations don’t give you any type of defence. We have to be provided with more reliable and concrete rules than those which govern Italian clubs.”

Image via Telegraph