Nemanja Vidic, the Serbian Captain and Manchester United defender has dismissed speculation that he plans to leave the club. He has been repeatedly linked to big money moves abroad to Barcelona, Real Madrid and AC Milan.
He claims there was never any question whether he would leave Manchester United despite heavy interest from Jose Mourinho to lure him to Real Madrid. Before the world cup a representative had said Vidic had “requested some time from United to think about things”, while Sir Alex Ferguson said he could not clarify the situation.
But shortly after, the club’s chief executive David Gill revealed that he had a verbal agreement with Vidic for a long-term contract to remain at Old Trafford. The international claims he always wanted to stay at the club, “I don’t know why people think it was a difficult decision,” he said. “I always said I am happy here. I never spoke about my future. I know there was all this speculation but I never said I wanted to go. There was nothing new. I am very happy to be here.”
His new 90,000-a-week contract will make him one of the highest earning players on the squad and the extension will take his deal up to a massive 18.72m.
Man United’s players who took part in the world cup have been excused from the current USA tour so Vidic will make the deal official when he returns from his holiday. With the possibility of veterans such as Ryan Giggs and Edwin Van Der Sar going into retirement, Vidic could become one of the more senior figures in the locker room.
Gill will also be in talks with Wayne Rooney to extend his contract which currently has two years left to run. Vidic’s decision to stay is a huge boost for the team given Rio Ferdinand’s fitness problems and the uncertainty of their defence.
The sponsors are happy that Vidic will continue wearing the Manchester United Football Shirt and his Nike Mercurial boots as he is one of the league’s top players.
