Rio talks to start 'shortly'

United keen to secure defender's long-term future

Last updated: 28th February 2008

rio ferdinand

Ferdinand: Talks to start soon

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Rio Ferdinand's agent has told Sky Sports News that contract talks are planned with Manchester United 'shortly'.

The centre-half's current deal is due to expire in 2009 and the Premier League champions are keen to discuss an extension.

According to reports, the England international's representative Pini Zahavi wanted to wait until the summer before opening negotiations with United.

But Zahavi has told Sky Sports News that there is a 'plan to shortly begin talks between Rio Ferdinand and Manchester United'.

When the Red Devils do open discussions, the club will be hoping to avoid the protracted negotiations which characterised Ferdinand's last contract.

Ferdinand signed his current four-year deal in 2005, but only after several months of talks which resulted in him being booed by fans in a pre-season friendly.

The situation was eventually resolved and the 29-year-old has continued to be a mainstay of a United rearguard which has conceded just 15 league goals this season.

Since joining the club in a then-British transfer record from Leeds United in 2002, Ferdinand has made over 250 appearances, scoring seven goals.

And, having spent almost £30million on the player, United will be determined to avoid losing the former West Ham United youngster for nothing.

Comments

Mimi Rohrmoser (Liverpool fan) says...

Oh get real Sean! Rio for England captain?? He may be a good player but his volatile and aggressive antics will never see him captain Man Utd, let alone England. See the pic??? He is always scowling. He is a good defender....leave it there.

Posted 07:13 29th February 2008

Bob Iliadis (Manchester United fan) says...

Rio Ferdinand is quite simply the best English defender going around and the best Man U have had since Jaap Stam. When comparing Rio to the likes of Maldini, Cannavoro & Nesta what we all need to realise is that the Italian way of playing be it in the league or for country is very defensive and the defenders always have brilliant cover in front of them and are rarely put in defensive situations where they need to make a crucial tackle or intervention time after time. If anybody care to watch Cannavoro for Madrid last season they would have seen him making many silly mistakes in the league & CL because of that fact that Real didnt have a true DM and Cannavoro had to do much more than just sit there and mop up he had to deal with many more defensive situations and as a consequence was caught out and made to look silly numerous times. The English game as we are all aware is much more attacking & physical making it much less defensive and as a consequence defenders such as Rio are put in many more crucial defending situations. It can be said that Man U still don't have a true DM since the great Roy Keane retired. Put quite simply if Rio was playing in Italy he would be considered in the Top 3 defenders in the world because he wouldnt have to do that much it would all be done for him by the midfield and the 2 or 3 DM's most Italian teams have. Otherwise he's great under pressure and has brilliant movement and passing abilities so much so that he could be a DM himself. He's all class and Man United through & through. He has also now lifted his game to a new level & Man United should ensure the re-sign him for another 5 seasons. In my last 30 yrs of watching Man U the only one who comes close to Rio is Jaap Stam. To think otherwise is just silly and comes from supporters who quite obviously hate Manchester United for winning 9 of the 15 EPL titles so far. MONEY BRILLIANTLY SPENT to get Rio at such an age and at the peak...

Posted 02:35 29th February 2008

Alex Peel (Manchester United fan) says...

how anyone can say that ferdinand should go baffles me... i mean have you guys been wartching united for the past 2 years he is the only defender with real composure and a real leader if you put brown in the centre of defence for us he would be like a rabbit in the headlights he cannot do the job that rio does for us week in week out i would be quite happy to see brown leave n think fergie should look at investing a new right back hate to say thia but i think mica richards.. he is clearly one of the best right backs in the premiership and hes young n i think he would be a perfect replacesment for brown.. not discarding gary nievelle coming back but hes knockin on and isnt going to be around for ever we need a new right back any1 agree?

Posted 19:41 28th February 2008

Gordon Mccrindle (Rangers fan) says...

I think to even suggest Rio is the best central defender in the world is a bit over the top. Yeah Rio is a great defender but I think anyone who knows football will know that he must be paired with an old fashioned no nonsense type of defender which he has got beside him in Vidic. As a pairing they are good, no doubting that but take either Vidic or Rio and put them beside a centre half similar to themselves and they would struggle. Kirk Lightbody you wrote about Wes just panicking and kicking the ball out when they are under pressure, well mate as a defender their job aint to play silky football but to DEFEND and if that means launching it when under pressure then you do it, I think if you have read any of Fergies books or heard him talk about defending you would know Fergie agrees with that. Someone else also wrote about Nesta and Maldini losing something, well I havent watched Nesta much but Maldini even at the ripe old age of 37 a couple of years ago, he was most certainly a better defender than Rio, im amazed that you can even put Rio in the same category as Maldini never mind suggest tat Rio is better than Maldini, im astounded by that !

Posted 19:38 28th February 2008

Shane Greenwood (Manchester United fan) says...

Manchester United have had the best defensive record in the league for two seasons and Rio has been part of that next to vidic in the centre, so how jack can come to the conclusion that ferdinand is a liability beats me. If it wasnt for Rio's injury last year we would of got to the final, could u really of seen rio getting torn apart by kaka the way Heinze did. No i cant. In fact the only game ive ever seen where rio has been outplayed was against Real Madrid a mere 3 or 4 years ago when he was destoyed by Ronaldo(Brazilian) in manu 4-3 win when ronnie scored a hattrick. As for milans centre pairing, the only reason they beat manu 3-0 in the first place was because manu had a crunch match vs everton in the league where we had to field a full strength team with only 1 actual first team defender as neville, rio and vidic were all injured and milan rested 9 players. Just as Liverpool did before their match vs Chelsea as manu and chelsea were still battling it out for the league. And milan and liverpool were out of it.

Posted 19:06 28th February 2008

Emmanuel Tosin (Manchester United fan) says...

rio is a player i think man utd should not gamble with, currently now with the pairing of vidic they have proved to be the best in the world. so i think his contract should be extended. emmanuel tosin nigeria

Posted 19:03 28th February 2008

Sean Mcgourty (Manchester United fan) says...

hello!!!!!! vidic is the man, we would be lost without him, and hes a true pro, you dont see him out for months stalling looking for more money, he remembers where he came from, rio has been good this season but sorry, if we are goin to splash out on wages, give it to vidic, as for brown, why would he say no to those wages, so he will be off to newcastle, get injured, out for 6 months and for the rest of his career win nothin!!!!!

Posted 18:57 28th February 2008

Curtis Dixon (Manchester United fan) says...

I think Jack is really Wes Brown in disguise!!! Jack, I mean Wes, obviously knows he's not going to get an improved contract at Man U next year and is trying to win support... What a ridiculous comment from Jack, I mean Wes, I really can't see anyone replacing Rio at the moment. Him and Vidic are proving to be the best centre half pairing in the world this year.

Posted 17:18 28th February 2008

Phil Evans (Manchester United fan) says...

i have to agree with jack. yes rio is a good defender but he can have lapses of ball watching,he never pick's up the big forwards at the back post on corners or free kicks,thats left to brown & vidic to say he's the best in the world,sorry NO WAY

Posted 14:34 28th February 2008

Christophe Koo (Manchester United fan) says...

Come on Jack... Can't be serious ?!!! Just ask Vidic who he prefers to see in central defense with him... no doubt about that... RIO !!!

Posted 14:05 28th February 2008

Kirk Lightbody (Manchester United fan) says...

I'd like to know if Jack Flynn is watching the same man utd everyone else is watching. Ferdinand a liability to man u? now thats the joke of the year. vidic is great but wes brown? the man you want to replace Ferdinand is whos really the liability. Rio Ferdinand is the only defender man united has that is comfortable on the ball, have you ever seen what vidic or brown does when an attacker applies the least of pressure? they panic and just clear it...that dont quiet cut it in today's game, not in 2008! Rio Ferdinand is the best defender in the world, the likes of nesta and maldini have lost some of that special something to their game but fact that man united has the best defencive record in the league clearly shows Ferdinand is still up there. trust me my friend, Wes brown is nowhere near ready to do Rio's job... one good game every 5 matches cant cut it!

Posted 14:05 28th February 2008

Will Jackson (Manchester United fan) says...

Unfortunately Rio Ferdinand is still regarded by many as lazy and prone to mistakes. I think Rio has grown up alot over the past two seasons and the mistakes have gone and I, along with most United fans, regard him as the best defender in the world. I didn't have any problems with his contract negotiations last time, I think it is his right to get as higher wage as he can, as United have never been the best payers, even Roy Keane's contract negotiations were long and drawn out

Posted 13:55 28th February 2008

Peter Duerden (Manchester United fan) says...

I think it is fair to presume that Jack Flynn is not actually a Manchester United fan but is in fact just a wind-up merchant. Anyone who has watched Manchester United over the last couple of years will know that Ferdinand, along with Vidic, have been the rocks on which our last two seasons have been built. You can not win games if you have a poor defence, and luckily for us, we have the best central defensive pairing in England, and maybe even Europe. Rio is a class act, and has not put a foot wrong all season, give him whatever he wants Mr Gill!

Posted 13:53 28th February 2008

John Richards (Manchester United fan) says...

Jack you clearly havent been watching the same games we have! Rio has been immense! You entitled to your opinion, but come on mate, Rio is quite possibly the best defender in Europe at the moment! Jermaine Jenas, in the press said that Woodgate and King should replace Terry and Ferdinand for England....thats's nearly as stupid as saying Man Utd should let ferdinand go!

Posted 13:50 28th February 2008

Matt Hilton (Manchester United fan) says...

Jack....are you serious? I can understand the comment about Rio daydreaming, although don't agree with it, but Brown with Vidic? Brown just isn't confident enough against big opposition, we'd wind up with lots more panicked clearances and poorly timed challenges in the centre of the park instead of on the wing. And as for Rio, his confidence and cool head at the back are invaluable, and he's becoming more and more professional - concentration especially!

Posted 12:48 28th February 2008

Kevin Martin (Manchester United fan) says...

Jack Flynn's comment below, what a pile of tosh! It's your opinion granted but come on, a team can not have a player as bad as you are making out and yet we only conceed 15 league goals to date! Rio has proved, time and again, he's the best defender in the world, yes, up there with Nesta and co. The only reason we didn't win the Champions League last year was because Rio got injured, if you remember Vidic played in the last game, and we lost 3-0. We missed Rio, if he stays fit we'll win at least two cups this year! United should go all out to keep Rio, he is one of those VERY rare footballers, irreplaceable! If you name me a better defender in world football, who United could get, and who can replace Rio and play to his standard at United, I'd very happiily eat my words....

Posted 12:34 28th February 2008

Jack Flynn (Manchester United fan) says...

I think Rio has been united's main liability this season. We should sell him cash in and put brown in the middle with Vidic. The number of times you watch ferdinand and he is daydreaming, not picking up, wandering about the pitch aimlessly, not to mention giving the ball away! If we didnt have Vidic in the team we would be mid in terrible shape. Sometimes vidic looks like he is out of position etc but that is because he is having to do the work of 2 defenders.

Posted 12:12 28th February 2008

Martin Hazell (Manchester United fan) says...

This is great news. He has got more consistent over the last 3 years and there's no-one better than him in the league. Lets get this done quickly and push for trophies!

Posted 11:50 28th February 2008

Nick Bell (Manchester United fan) says...

Agree with Sean on everything except the England captaincy, soon as you make them captain they get stick and prioritise country over club, and personally i'd rather our players didn't do that

Posted 11:43 28th February 2008

Paul K says...

If i was Rio, i would look at life very simply, he's playing well, he's in one of the best teams in the world with a chance of winning more trophies, he has already earned enough money not to have to worry about his pension and now has the chance to further it probably another 4 years. If Man Uited offer him £90k a week, take it Rio, dont hold out for another £10k (you'll lose most of it in tax anyway) make it short and sweet and realise there plenty of people in the world who still have to travel 3 miles just to get a cup of water. Any 'egos' should be left at the door and realise that life is good for Rio, and theres no point arguing with Man Utd or Alex Ferguson anyway, any player should realise that Fergie never gives in and would rather let a player go than have them think they are bigger than the club, just look what he did with Paul Ince, Van Nistelrooy, Cole, and plenty others who though they could win that battle. So my advice to Rio is simple. Keep it simple mate, lifes good, keep it that way. all the best Paul

Posted 11:37 28th February 2008

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