RIO ROUND UP

Rio Ferdinand as - The Player
Peter Lorimer as - The ex-Player
Nigel Martyn as - The Teammate
Pig Face as - The man with the face of a pig
Ebeneezer Edwards as - The Ghost of Christmas past

And Cuddly Pete as - The Suitor.

The Player:

"I've heard all the speculation about me possibly leaving and as far as I'm concerned it's up to Leeds. If they want to keep me I will be staying, if they decide to sell me that's different. I'm planning to go on my holidays and just intend to relax."

The Ex-Player:

"It's not a foregone conclusion. But it's a big possibility that he will move. The manager has said that he wants to speak to him and wants him to stay, but until Rio makes his decision then nobody will know. It's down to him now in the position that he's in because the chairman and the manager have said that if he wants to go then there's no point keeping him. It's a decision the lad has got to make. I don't think for one minute that Leeds will want to push him out and nobody wants a player of his calibre to go. But if the lad has decided, as David O'Leary has said, that there's a bigger fish somewhere else and he wants to go there's not a lot he can do about it. It would appear the decision is strictly in Rio's hands now."

"If we sell, we will be handing them the title. They will be champions, end of story. The decision rests with the Leeds plc. They will ask my advice and I'll tell them: 'No, we should not be selling a player like Ferdinand - and not to Manchester United'.

"You have to say Rio had a tremendous World Cup. I thought he was sensational and he proved he is a world-class player. So good luck to him. He's got himself a bigger reputation now and there are a lot of managers looking at him. He is becoming a talking point and I just hope Leeds will be able to hang on to him. It's important that we do and I hope we can. But there is bound to be speculation."

"We've said things will be done after the World Cup. Over the next few weeks things will start to develop but there is nothing at the minute. I have spoken to Leeds chairman Peter Ridsdale. At that stage he was not for sale and there has been no other contact since then. Tentative enquiries have been made about players because we are obviously looking at our squad for next season."

"If you keep spending money without recuperating that is a dangerous situation. We have a big squad here and if you bring a player in maybe you have to let somebody go. It is no secret that Rio Ferdinand is a great player and would improve our squad. But whether Leeds are prepared to sell him is another matter."