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Sir Alex Ferguson has suggested he didn't sign David Silva because he felt the Manchester City star didn't do enough defensively.

Silva is recognised as one of the most outstanding playmakers in Europe, a double Premier League champion with City and World Cup and European Championship winner with Spain.

He joined City for £24million from Valencia in 2010, a fee that now looks a bargain price, given the consistent level of performance Silva has produced and what he has achieved over the past five years.

But Ferguson, speaking in an interview to promote his new book, Leading, hinted he did not go for Silva because, ultimately, he felt a player like him did not do enough to help out his team without the ball.

“We watched Silva a lot when he was at Valencia,” said Ferguson. “And the other player they had, the same type, years before it, played in that No.10 role.

(Image: Martin Rose)

“My problem with that was you have to be very, very good to play in that position, because there's no defensive duties for them.

“So if you're wanting to be be really successful, everyone has to do their turn, has to work, you know?

“So I had a difficulty with that. But, in the end, of course, there's the greats.

David Silva - Premier League stats for 2014/15 32 Games 12 Goals 7 Assists

“You could say Lionel Messi was a No.10 type, Maradona, some fantastic players, and I don't dispute that.

“But at United we always found it difficult. The kind of No.10 I used came from my experience as a footballer.”

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Ferguson, speaking to SiriusXM in New York, added: “When I started to lose my pace a bit, up front, I started to drop in, into the hole, in a different way to the No10s you're talking about.

“I realised then the defenders found it difficult to cope with it, so all my teams had one striker and one playing off. Not in the hole, but playing off the front.”