Dealing with a three-game losing streak, the last thing Manchester United needs is prominent players threatening to jump ship, but between the increased rumblings surrounding Wayne Rooney’s contract and the idea Nemanja Vidic might be going elsewhere, two big chunks of the team’s core are in doubt. Yet whereas Rooney is locked into his United deal into 2014-15, the team’s captain is in the final six months of his contract, meaning he could sign an agreement with another team at any time.
If Vidic’s agent is to believed, that team won’t be Manchester United, with Silvano Martina telling Italian radio that the 32-year-old Serbian international is unlikely to sign an extension with the Red Devils.
From reporting by The Guardian:
The question is to what extent this threat is to be believed. Would Nemanja Vidic, in the face of a fair offer (if that ever comes), really walk away from Manchester United? Possibly. It’s possible Vidic wants to move on, adding a second storied team to his résumé before entering the final phase of his career. Maybe Martina’s comments reflect the viewpoint of a man who just wants to change things up.
Given the context of the comment, however, this seems like posturing. Before making the ‘rule out’ claim, Martina describes the market for Vidic. He’s a good player, teams are looking at him, and he’ll have no trouble finding a club, the agent claims. The implication: Manchester United’s clearly going to have to offer Martina’s client something good to turn away from this opportunity.
Okay, perhaps I’m reading too much into the comments, but it’s far easier for me to believe that a player entering the last part of his contract is trying to get a new deal than imagining somebody in his seventh season at a club and entering the final part of his career is moving on without a better explanation. “I want to play for another team” would be a great explanation, but instead of providing that, Martina described why Manchester United should be offering Vidic a deal.
When a player reaches a certain age, the Red Devils do this. They don’t offer multi-year deals, and they usually wait until the new year to start getting their guys signed up for the following season. It’s why Ryan Giggs seems to be perpetually on a one-year contract, and it’s also why Rio Ferdinand’s future is in doubt. Even 32-year-old Michael Carrick’s recently signed contract extension only goes until June 2015, though there is an option to extend it another season.
It’s a lack of commitment that also gives players an out, something that could cost United one of their two best (if not their best) central defender. But based on how Martina’s going about things, the agent’s ‘rule out’ stance seems negotiating than true declaration of intent. If the reason Vidic wasn’t interested in a contract extension was a desire to play elsewhere, it would have been put in those terms.