Rio set to sign new deal
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Ferdinand agrees new £6m-a-year contract
Daniel Taylor
Tuesday April 15, 2008
The Guardian
Manchester United's season is becoming a story of one piece of good news after another and there was more for their supporters to celebrate last night when it emerged that Rio Ferdinand had provisionally agreed a new contract. Ferdinand has been in outstanding form and the negotiations have passed off remarkably smoothly compared to the difficulties that were encountered before he signed his current deal in 2005.
On that occasion Ferdinand was jeered by the club's supporters and reprimanded by Sir Alex Ferguson during a year-long haggling process that was notorious for him being photographed in London having dinner with the Chelsea chief executive, Peter Kenyon. This time, the discussions have taken only a few weeks before Ferdinand declared himself satisfied with the offer. The England international, who has captained his club and country recently, currently earns a little over £100,000 a week, but his new contract will be worth about £6m a year (roughly £115,000 a week), consolidating his position as one of the world's best-paid footballers.
The contract is currently in the hands of his representatives and, until it has been signed off by lawyers, there will be no official announcement from Old Trafford, but it has been confirmed that it is close to being finalised. Ferdinand joined the club from Leeds United for a British-record £29.1m in 2002 and will be 34 by the time his new deal expires.
United, however, have been bewildered by reports that Cristiano Ronaldo is to be rewarded for his exceptional form with another pay rise. Their leading scorer is only one year into a contract that lasts until 2012 and there are no plans to offer him a new deal. The club's usual policy is to wait until the player is two years from the end of his contract.
Whether Ronaldo is willing to wait that long remains to be seen but, for now at least, United are largely unconcerned by the latest wave of reports from Spain that Real Madrid are still hopeful of signing him. Ronaldo has always made it clear he would like to play in La Liga but Ferguson has legitimate reasons to believe he is ushering United into a golden period, with the club on the verge of the Premier League title and facing a Champions League semi-final later this month against an out-of-sorts Barcelona side.
The 2-1 defeat of Arsenal on Sunday means United have taken four points from Arsène Wenger's side, as well as doing a league double over Liverpool and beating Chelsea in their only encounter this season. "I said from the start that results between the top four would be the key this season and that's been proved right," said Ferguson. "We've managed to do that and if we can win our next two games, then we'll be champions."
United have to face Blackburn Rovers on Saturday followed by a trip to Stamford Bridge a week later when, if everything goes according to plan for Ferguson, the title could be confirmed. He is anxious, however, not to be seen as over-confident. "I am not counting my chickens," he said. "I am not getting carried away as I know what football can do to you. My team is keen to do well and the players are showing great consistency. We never give up, which is a priceless quality to have. That's the kind of spirit we will need in our remaining games. Hopefully that will continue and we will win the league."
Ferguson can certainly be encouraged by the form of his team, who have already accumulated 80 points, nine behind their total when they won the championship last season. "The Premier League has become much tougher in recent seasons," he said. "Thank goodness we've performed well and got results against our main rivals, because we've dropped points elsewhere. For example, we lost six points to Manchester City this season, which is something we didn't expect. We also lost at West Ham and Bolton, but the key is keeping those setbacks to a minimum and we've managed that."
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