Gerry Sutcliffe, the Sports Minister, came under a twin-pronged attack today following his controversial remarks about season ticket price rises at Old Trafford and the size of John Terry’s wages.

Sutcliffe, a Manchester United supporter, said the club risked pricing out ordinary fans by imposing rises of “13 per cent” and making season tickets include European and Carling Cup games.

He was equally critical of Terry, the Chelsea and England captain, describing his “£150,000 a week” salary as “obscene”.

“It is unfair and inaccurate,” Sir Alex Ferguson, the Manchester United manager, said of Sutcliffe's remarks about the prices charged by his club. “If you want to talk about obscene, he should look at the prices they charge at Chelsea and Arsenal.

“He works in London, I am sure he knows where Chelsea and Arsenal play, so he must know about their ticket prices. They are almost double ours, so I do not understand why he is picking on Manchester United.”

David Gill, the Manchester United chief executive, said Sutcliffe could not be fully informed of the facts relating to the club’s season ticket price rises. “Our average increase was 10.78 per cent and we think the prices between £25 and £45 are very fair in relation to other clubs such as Chelsea and keeps us in touch with our grass-roots supporters,” Gill said.

Terry’s weekly pay packet, meanwhile, although certainly substantial, is believed to be nearer £130,000 a week. He found a predictable ally in Gordon Taylor, the chief executive of the Professional Footballers’ Association.

“I find it an incredible statement coming from a sports minister,” Taylor said. “We’re talking about paying millions to have an Olympics or World Cup here in England, but if we’re not careful we’re not even going to have the sportsmen and women to do ourselves justice.

“He should be pleased that we’ve got a lad here who’s managed to break through in a world when there’s a massive amount of foreign players, and he’s proved himself one of the very best in the world.

“Is he [Sutcliffe] going to have a go at Lewis Hamilton’s money, Jonny Wilkinson’s money? He should be supporting sports people who have that incentive for youngsters who take up sport to reach that level.

“Every labourer is worth his hire and Mr Abramovich [the Chelsea owner] thinks he’s worth it. More than half of that money goes to the Government in tax.

“There’s so much money coming into the game, surely it’s only fair that they get their share of that?”