Capello blames 'non spending' for absence of English clubs in Champions League

London, May 6 (ANI): England coach Fabio Capello has said that failure to strengthen the team by big Premier League clubs is the reason behind no England representation in the Champions League semi-finals.

Liverpool's 30 million pounds sale of Xabi Alonso to Real Madrid disturbed their central midfield play, while Manchester United cashed in on 80 million pounds Cristiano Ronaldo and let Carlos Tevez sign up for bitter rivals Manchester City.

Arsenal dumped Emmanuel Adebayor and Kolo Toure, earning 50 million pounds, and Chelsea acquired no big players. And the few who were signed by Premier League clubs, have largely failed to live up to their fees, The Sun reports.

Capello will be benefited and his England stars will get a decent rest before the World Cup starts on June 11.

"It is always better to have players who have been winning than ones unhappy because the national championship or the Champions League went wrong. Liverpool sold players and those who arrived did not meet expectations," Capello said.

"Arsenal is unlucky. They also sold some players, didn't get any others and important ones who were left were injured at key moments. United sold Ronaldo and Tevez and the players they bought instead are maybe not as good," he added.

"Chelsea did buy Zhirkov but then nothing more. None of those teams strengthened. In England, only Manchester City did," he added. (ANI)