Ferguson feels Ferdinand has let down United
Ferguson urges Ferdinand to sign amid lingering " suspicions and doubts"
Daniel Taylor
Wednesday April 20, 2005
The Guardian
Sir Alex Ferguson broke the habit of a lifetime last night when he effectively accused Rio Ferdinand of letting down Manchester United and, making no attempt to disguise his disappointment, confirmed there would be " lingering suspicions and doubts" until the England defender proved he had no interest in signing for Chelsea by agreeing a new contract.
Ferguson, usually that fierce protector of his own, stopped short of outright criticism of Ferdinand but accepted there were holes in the defender´s version of events. He said he had been " bemused" to learn that Ferdinand and his agent Pini Zahavi had not only met Chelsea´s chief executive Peter Kenyon in London two Saturdays ago but that, contrary to the defender´s statement that it had been a " brief hello", they had gone to a second restaurant where they had spent three hours together. " It´s so obvious now that it wasn´t as frivolous a meeting as it was made out," said Ferguson.
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Although United have opted against reporting Chelsea to the Premier League, Ferguson is convinced the meeting was set up deliberately because Chelsea want to entice Ferdinand to Stamford Bridge. " It doesn´t reflect well on us as a football club," he said of Ferdinand´s part in the controversy. " The players at this club know how well treated they are. They know what a great club it is. So it doesn´t sit well with us."
Given that Ferguson religiously steers clear of saying anything that could be construed as criticism of his players, the fact he offered such a withering assessment speaks volumes for how strongly he feels about the matter.
United´s manager could hardly have done more to support Ferdinand during his three seasons at Old Trafford, offering his unequivocal backing to the England international during his eight-month ban for missing a drugs test and even promising him the future role of captain.
He is clearly exasperated by Zahavi´s role, having regarded the agent as a close associate, but he is even more entitled to feel let down by Ferdinand, whether it was simply naivety on the defender´s part or something more sinister.
" The best thing Rio can do now is sign his new contract. We had a meeting on Friday with him and his agent and I was pleased with how it went, but they said it would take four or five days and we´re approaching that now. Rio says he wants to sign and we´ve offered him a nice deal [reputedly £110,000 a week] so hopefully it will be done this week.
" Negotiations can some times take a bit more time than expected. I´m not too concerned with that but the important issue is that he does sign. If he does that, sooner rather than later, it puts the whole thing to rest. It would take away any lingering suspicions and doubts about the whole thing."
Ferguson had accused Kenyon of treating United " with contempt" even before he learned his former colleague - a man privy to the finest details of Ferdinand´s current contract - not only dined with the 26-year-old at an Italian restaurant but went on to a Greek restaurant. Chelsea say it was an " innocent" night out but they have previous when it comes to clandestine meetings, having been caught red-handed with Sven-Goran Eriksson and Ashley Cole.
" It´s bizarre but I think we´re handling it the right way," said Ferguson. " The new revelations have highlighted the reason for my concerns. It doesn´t show Chelsea in a good light; Peter Kenyon has put himself in a stew with this one.
" It´s for Chelsea to answer now. I should imagine the Premier League are well aware of it by now and will be as concerned as we are. David Gill [United´s chief executive] is abroad at the moment so we haven´t had a meeting about it since Sunday, but once is he is back we will be having one."
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