According the Daily Mail, Nemanja Vidic wants to leave Manchester United in the summer because his young family remain deeply unsettled in England. The newspaper suggests the bad news does not end there, as Sir Alex Ferguson has been told that Rio Ferdinand’s niggling back injury that has thus far undermined his entire season is likely to recur throughout the remainder of the 31-year-old’s career. The two central defenders have formed the bedrock of the Premier league champions’ sustained success over the last three years, winning three titles on the bounce in addition to the European Cup.
Vidic was strongly linked with a move to Real Madrid and Barcelona during the summer amid reports his wife Ana was unsettled in Manchester, and although the Serbian international fervently denied the speculation, rumours today suggest he is reluctant to sign an extension on his current deal that ends in 2012. United are expected to offer him an improved deal on his £70,000 a week package, however the Mail claim he in unlikely to commit to a new deal. As a result Ferguson will consider selling him at the end of the season when his stock will be at its highest as they risk losing him for a nominal fee in two years time.
Early this week Vidic gave an interview to United fanzine in which he discussed his future.
He told Inside United Magazine: “To be honest, you never know what is going to happen. I’ll be 30 by the end of my contract.”
“I can’t say what is going to happen in one year, two years’ time.”
“At the moment I’m happy and I’m here. See what the club is going to say, what it is going to be.”
“I want to play here well and for the fans and everyone to be happy with me, to see that I give the right effort, to give my best, to give 100 per cent. What is going to happen in the future, that no one knows.”
“I definitely have two-and-a-half years left on my contract here and I will stay here.”
To compound the issue, the newspaper indicates Ferdinand’s back problems are going to have to be managed throughout his career suggesting there is no quick-fix for the England international.