Rio commits to United

Ferdinand agrees new five-year deal

By Lewis Rutledge   Last updated: 16th April 2008   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Rio commits to United

Ferdinand: New deal agreed

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Rio Ferdinand's agent has revealed that the defender has agreed a new five-year deal with Manchester United.

The 29-year-old moved to Old Trafford from Leeds in 2002 and has gone on to establish himself as one of the finest centre-backs in the Premier League

There has been speculation of a move to Barcelona but Sir Alex Ferguson recently revealed that talks over a contract extension had been ongoing for some time.

Ferdinand now looks set to sign a long-term deal in the very near future, with reports suggesting the agreement is worth £130,000-a-week.

The player's agent Pini Zahavi is also confident that Ferdinand will stay at United beyond the end of this new contract.

Happy

Zahavi insists that Ferdinand is settled at United and ready to play on longer than Paolo Maldini, the 39-year-old Milan legend who is set to retire at the end of the season.

"This new deal will take him beyond 34, but it won't be his last contract and in all probability it won't be his last contract at Manchester United," Zahavi said in the Daily Express.

"Rio is very, very happy there, he wanted to stay and they wanted him to stay.

"Of course he could have gone to another big club but he did not want to.

"I believe he can play longer than Maldini - and they believe so at Manchester United as well."