Resumo de No Panic Over Rio Ferdinand

Write your abstract
here.Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson is
refusing to be ruffled by the current deadlock over Rio
Ferdinand's new contract.
Ferdinand's agent, Pini Zahavi, last week revealed that
talks have stalled over his client's future at Old
Trafford, although he did add that he believes the defender
will stay with United.

Ferguson appears to be adopting a similar approach,
although he has hinted the Red Devils could also cope with
losing the England star.

'It doesn't bother me. We have a good squad of players here
and we will cope with whatever happens,' Ferguson told the
News of the World.

'It is really entirely up to the player. We have made an
offer. That is our position. It is a good offer. Whether he
signs or not, he has two years left on his deal. We have to
expect nowadays that negotiations take longer than they
used to take.

'Agents play their part and, in my experience, talks tend
to get dragged out.'

It is thought Ferdinand has been offered £100,000 a week
but is holding out for an extra £20,000 in line with what
Zahavi believes to be the 26-year-old's status as the best
defender in the world.

Zahavi recently said: 'No-one is having talks. There is no
need to speak. He has two years (left on his contract).
There was at some stage an idea (for a new contract) but we
could not reach an agreement.

'But he is loyal to Manchester United and I am sure at the
end of the day he will stay.'
Manchester United officials remain relaxed about securing
Rio Ferdinand on a long-term contract even though his
advisor Pini Zahavi claims talks over a new deal have
reached deadlock.
Sir Alex Ferguson called on Ferdinand to sign the £100,000-
a-week extension prior to the FA Cup final defeat to
Arsenal in May, but almost two months on, still no
agreement has been reached.

It is thought Ferdinand is holding out for an extra £20,000
a week in line with what Zahavi believes to be the 26-year-
old's status as the best defender in the world.

With two years remaining on his present deal, there is no
immediate demand to tie Ferdinand down, although when David
Beckham stalled on signing a new deal in similar
circumstances in 2003, he was quickly sold to Real Madrid.

On Sunday, United chief executive David Gill insisted there
was no stumbling block to the deal and he felt sufficiently
relaxed about the situation to depart for a fortnight's
holiday.

Even Zahavi, who attended the impromptu meal with Ferdinand
and Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon which attracted so
much attention last March, believes his client will
probably sign, although as yet, no further discussions are
planned.

'No-one is having talks,' Zahavi told the Independent.

'There is no need to speak. He has two years (left on his
contract). There was at some stage an idea (for a new
contract) but we could not reach an agreement.

'But he is loyal to Manchester United and I am sure at the
end of the day he will stay.'

United fans have been irritated by Ferdinand's stance,
particularly as the Red Devils stood by him during his
eight month ban for a missed drugs test.

However, Gill has already rejected the allegations of
disloyalty levelled against the former Leeds captain and
insisted he should only sign `when the time is right'.

'We want him to stay, he wants to stay and in my
experience, when that situation prevails, invariably the
player stays,' said Gill.

Gabriel Heinze has been voted Manchester United supporters'
player of the year.

The Argentina full-back edged out Wayne Rooney to become
the first non-European winner of the award, an achievement
even more remarkable because he missed the first month of
the season because of international commitments at the
Olympics.

A £6.9million arrival from Paris St Germain last summer,
Heinze won over the fanstyle and
though Rooney ended up top scorer in his first season at
Old Trafford, it was not enough to oust the 27-year-old
from top spot.

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