Here it is:
Not for the first time, Rio Ferdinand had cause to thank Manchester United last night, if only for their efforts to brush his latest indiscretions under the carpet, but their hopes of securing him to a new long-term contract are receding as his troubled relationship with the club’s supporters threatens to plumb new depths.
United have closed ranks around their £30 million record acquisition since his alleged V-sign in response to abuse from a small number of travelling fans after their 2-1 defeat by Kashima Antlers in a friendly in Tokyo on Thursday. Increasingly, though, it seems that their attempts to support the player will prove in vain, with Ferdinand farther than ever from signing a new contract and the club’s board unwilling to make an improvement on the highly lucrative offer they made earlier in the summer.
With the significant exception of Sir Alex Ferguson, most people at Old Trafford — from David Gill, the chief executive, and Carlos Queiroz, the assistant manager, to team-mates — are adamant that Ferdinand will sign an extension to his contract, which has less than two years to run. But, in reality, the situation looks ever more bleak. Negotiations have been postponed indefinitely since he rejected their first offer, with sources in the Ferdinand camp giving warning yesterday that United "are making a big mistake" and that other clubs in Europe are manoeuvring in the background.
Initially bemused by the catcalls from the terraces, Ferdinand is said to be concerned that his standing among the fans may not recover even if he signs a new contract. It emerged yesterday that the basic weekly wage offered in April was less than the figure of £100,000 that was circulated at the time, although, with bonuses and signing-on fees taking it into six figures, it is not likely that a wave of sympathy will follow for a player who was paid his £70,000-a-week salary throughout his eight-month suspension last year for failing to attend a drugs test.
Ferdinand has been stripped of the vice-captaincy by Ferguson, but Queiroz jumped to the player’s defence yesterday at a press conference: "These (contract) discussions cannot put a question mark in terms of his loyalty and his will to win for Manchester United," Queiroz said. "Rio is a Manchester United player. All of us in life have things to discuss with our employers, but that doesn’t mean that we can have doubts about our commitment or professionalism."