Wigan boss Steve Bruce, who had to sanction half his squad jetting round the world in midweek, backed Fergie, describing the friendlies as `nonsense'.

And Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger is, for once, in agreement with the Reds chief, joining in the criticism of such matches, predicting that busy domestic schedules will mean there will be no room for them.

The Reds' boss says his table-topping stars are being over-used by their countries, singling out Portugal coach Luis Felipe Scolari for special criticism.

Notably, Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani were both withdrawn from international duty this week despite playing pivotal roles in United's victory over Liverpool last Sunday.

But Ferguson is sure to have been displeased by Fabio Capello's decision to play both newly-appointed skipper Rio Ferdinand and Owen
Hargreaves for the entire 90 minutes of the friendly against France on Wednesday.

He said: "It seems to be our players that always play the full 90 minutes. Look at the last internationals. We had nine who played 90 minutes.

"There were no other teams in the English game that had anything like that. So that is a big worry for us.

"I made a point after the last one with Ronaldo. We were promised he'd play 45 minutes and he played 90 and came back with an injury.

"You hope that's weighing on the mind of every international manager's mind, but I don't think it is. I think they look at their own jobs and I can understand that."