Bruno Conti has called on Fifa and UEFA to clamp down on clubs who consistently poach young talent.
Roma director unhappy with Red Devils' purchase of youngsters
Roma director Bruno Conti has called on football's governing bodies Fifa and UEFA to clamp down on clubs who consistently poach young talent.
Conti is particularly infuriated with Manchester United's behaviour after they took 16-year-old David Petrucci from the Giallorossi in July 2008.
However all of the Premier League's 'big four' have made it their policy to scour Europe for the finest youngsters over the last few years.
The situation has come under the microscope in the past week following Fifa's decision to place a 16-month transfer embargo on Chelsea after they were found guilty of inducing Gael Kakuta to break his contract with Lens in 2007.
"Our coach at the time, Luciano Spalletti, called Sir Alex Ferguson when he got wind of the Petrucci move and asked him to put a stop to it," Conti said in
The Mail on Sunday.
"Ferguson said he would see what he could do. But we heard nothing.
"United are still behaving in this way. It is not sport and it is no way for Sir Alex Ferguson, one of the game's great leaders, to conduct himself.
Investment
"We invest a lot in these young players in time, education and money. The law still allows them to do that but Uefa president Michel Platini is already in talks with the Italian FA to look at ways to eliminate this."
Last month United secured the capture of 16-year-old Alberto Massacci and 18-year-old Manuel Pucciarelli from Serie B side Empoli leaving the club, who rely on transfer fees generated by their youngsters in order to survive, with a sometimes inadequate compensation.
"We are not happy," Empoli director Giuseppe Vitale said. "United do this kind of thing because they know our regulations it Italy.
"Platini must change the law so that when a big club come in and try and rob us of our players, they must pay us a decent amount of money."
