Manchester United have omitted Owen Hargreaves and Bebé from their Champions League squad – announced tonight. Hargreaves has been left out on grounds of fitness; a decision that indicates Ferguson does not anticipate the injury-troubled midfielder will recover from his long-standing knee problems in the next few months. United’s final group match is against Valencia on 7 December.
Bebé is a more complex case, having signed from Vitória Guimarães on 11 August for £7.4m without Ferguson ever having seen him play.
Concerning Bebé, United’s manager had relied on recommendations before arranging a deal for the 20-year-old, but it has since become apparent to the club’s coaching staff that the Portuguese is a long way from challenging for the first team and will need more work on the training ground than had been previously anticipated.
Hargreaves was included in United’s official squad for the Premier League but that was simply because the size of Ferguson’s squad meant there was no need to leave him out. Bebé is also available for United’s league matches but is not even on the club’s B list for the Champions League because Uefa stipulate this is only available to players who have been at their club for two years or longer.
The maximum number of players officially allowed in a Champions League squad is 25, but as United have only named 24, more questions about the strange circumstances of Bebé’s transfer will be asked. The forward made his debut for Portugal’s Under-21s in their 1-0 defeat to England on Friday night and played the full match.
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