Sale of Beckham would enable United to rebuild

Champions' league: Old Trafford manager to contemplate bringing in new blood after Spanish masters expose Premiership's technical flaws

This time there were no recriminations, no broadsides from the captain about Rolex cultures, no intimation from the manager that a wholesale rebuild was required. Manchester United went out of the Champions' League on Wednesday night like Davy Crockett at the Alamo, fighting to the last, beaten but not bowed.

The full repercussions cannot, however, be divined overnight. It was defeat in Europe, by Borussia Dortmund in the 1997 semi-final, which ushered Eric Cantona into unexpected retirement. Failure on all fronts the following year led to the arrival of Dwight Yorke, Jaap Stam and Jesper Blomqvist. As that brought Manchester United the European Cup Sir Alex Ferguson craved, it suggested the framework was in place for sustained success. Subsequent narrow exits in the knock-out rounds only prompted gradual change with Ruud van Nistelrooy, Juan Sebastian Veron and Rio Ferdinand each signed to refine the style as well as improve the team. That only the first of these players can be regarded, to date, as an unqualified success clouds the issue of what Ferguson will do next.

A clear-out is improbable. United have rallied impressively at home and the way they cruised through both Champions' League group stages suggests they are not so far away abroad. Besides, funds are not limitless. To buy major players Ferguson will have to sell. Though Roy Keane's decline is the most pressing issue facing the United manager speculation will centre on David Beckham. No one at Old Trafford is yet is admitting he will leave but that is more likely now than at any time since he emerged eight years ago.

Madrid is the most likely destination. Real's adventurous, high-risk policy of recruiting only marquee names paid off again as Ronaldo delivered a fourth successive season in the semi-finals.

There they are joined by three Italian clubs, Milan, Internazionale, and Real's next opponents, Juventus. As all three have cut it fine at times, most notably Milan who required an injury-time goal to defeat Ajax, it is premature to suggest this proves Serie A has regained its supremacy. Similarly, German failure to secure representation in the last eight of any Uefa competition for the first time in 46 years of Continental endeavour does not indicate the Bundesliga is a busted flush. Nevertheless, it does suggest the Italian game is returning to health. This may reflect a slightly more adventurous approach to football, bringing Serie A more in line with the Premiership and La Liga, though only Real Madrid, Manchester United and Barcelona have averaged more than two goals a game in this season's Champions' League.

The Premiership, meanwhile, continues to fall short. Unlike in Spain, excitement is not accompanied by wide-spread technical excellence. Arsenal may have craftsmen like Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp but they also have Sol Campbell and Martin Keown, fine defenders but as likely to pass to an opponent as a team-mate. While United are better equipped for the passing game, their ball movement falls short of Real's precision.

This is why, in the six seasons since the expansion of the European Cup to include non-champions, English clubs have reached the semi-finals only three times (Manchester United in 1999 and 2002, Leeds in 2001). With Leeds' effort now looking a freak, and Arsenal persistently disappointing, Manchester United remain the Premiership's best hope. In the wake of Wednesday's exit, van Nistelrooy, having underlined his own right to a place at the banquet, expressed confidence that United would fulfil that expectation. "We have a lot of young players and a lot of years ahead. We can learn from this and improve next year," he said.

Keane, who is more familiar with European disappointment, was less sure. He said: "We keep getting these lessons but the penny has to finally drop. You can't keep giving the ball back to teams like Real Madrid. Ronaldo's third goal was a great one but the first two were disappointing. If you give away soft goals like that it is going to make it hard at any level."

The United captain added: "We're doing well to get to the quarter-finals and semi-finals, but it's that next step which is a massive one. A lot of teams make the knock-out stages but it is going the final few yards."

What is clear is that few clubs from the lesser nations will do so under the current format. The last club from outside the "big four" to reach the semi-finals was Dynamo Kiev in 1999. The following year qualification was expanded to four qualifiers from the countries leading the Uefa coefficients (currently Spain, Italy, England) and three from the fourth-ranked (Germany). All 16 subsequent semi-finalists have come from this quartet.

Ajax almost bucked the trend this year, but attempts to build on this season's experience will depend on whether they can hold on to the likes of Christian Chivu, Rafael van der Vaart, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and, with Barcelona looking on, their coach, Ronald Koeman. At least for Manchester United the pain of defeat is tempered by the knowledge that, with their resources, there will always be "next year".