[kolehiyoloko]

Ferguson Admits Contract Slips As Pique Ponders Exit

With speculation growing that defender Gerard Pique is pondering an Old Trafford exit, Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has admitted that the club cannot always tie down the players they want to long-term contracts.

While Sir Alex Ferguson was delighted to confirm earlier this week that Manchester United are close to signing Rio Ferdinand on a new long-term contract, another defender, Catalonian defender Gerard Pique, could be moving one. And Ferdinand's new deal could help sway Pique's decision.

Regarding Ferdinand, Ferguson told Sky Sports News yesterday: "He is on the point of signing a new contract - yes. Rio's played a fantastic part this season. Sometimes he's been captain and he's done really well there too."

And he added: "We always try to get players on new contracts. Sometimes we maybe slip up but not often."

Among those slips was losing Gabriel Heinze last summer. It could have been worse - the Argentine full-back nearly joined arch-rivals Liverpool.

Another full-back, Wes Brown, is out of contract in the summer and thus free to sign, should he wish, for another Premiership club in two months' time.

And Pique and Patrice Evra are out of contract at the end of next season.

United opened contract renewal talks with Evra soon after Nemanja Vidic's new deal was finalised in January, but Pique's advisors are listening to interested parties in Spain, with his home-town club Barcelona thought to be keen on taking him back to Camp Nou.

Pique recently warned that he was not prepared to spend much more of his career sitting on the bench, but the Ferdinand-Vidic partnership is the rock on which United's outstanding season to date has been built, so it is difficult to see Pique displacing either of those two in the pecking order any time soon - though Vidic's injury has given Pique a rare opportunity in recent games.

Mark Hinton, Goal.com

wat can i say? the kid has talent, that's for sure! he's to good to be benched every weekend... but how can you play if the two best centre backs pairing are in the team, yeah i'm talking about rio and nemanja.

i think sir alex must make move regarding pique, i respectfully suggest that gerard pique must be sent out on loan, have a deal with racing santander... buy ezequiel garay while pique going the other way on loan for one year... at least we still own pique... we're not sure about the future of any of our player, so it's good that pique will be playing regularly, but we still owns him!

 

[abojodeh]

no way he is red
fergie will give extra cash
so gerard will stay

 

[Lucky7]

I hope he Don't leave us..

 

[RichardsReds]

I hope he stays but i can see him leaving!

 

[abojodeh]

no way he has adapted the english game perfictly i see him near vida or rio someday (in the near future)

 

[marty davidson]

i hope he stays he is a quality defender a good replacement if Ferdinand or Vidic got injued

 

[NateR]

i hope he stays he is a quality defender a good replacement if Ferdinand or Vidic got injued

Thats the problem. I doubt he wants to just be a replacement for 1 of those 2 when they get injured/suspended.

 

[akash_reds]

he is a good player but will be sold IMO....after ferdiand has signed a new 5 year contract i think he will feel left out.....i want him to stay but mostly he wont.....but if we do sell him who wil want to be a sub for our team??? acrually..who would want to be a sub???? wish he could stay but he has every right to leave

 

[Red Devil]

*unsettled* does not mean leaving

 

[Nigel'sChin]

i think he would stay. maybe he can get a chance at right back if wes brown leaves. i do think he can play as a right back with his built, but of course, centre back is where he belongs. but well, i think we should play him in all cup games, resting vidic/ferdinand once in a while when these cup games arrives. also, we could always play him against the lesser team in UCL during group stage. you can call it rotation, but well, he does have the quality, just lacking the experience.

 

[JoeEyre]

Real good prospect and should try and hang onto him

 

[fazman]

For gods sake if he wants to go goodbye he hasnt set the world on fire he cant hold the club to ransome if he was better than vidic and rio he'd be in the team but is young and not ready . The fact he is not willing to wait isnt good anyway did wes brown moan at playing second fiddle no he gets on with it .

 

[Daemonic Jackal]

I actually think alot will depend on if Wes Brown decides to stay or not. If he decides to leave then I think Pique will happily settle for the No3 CB position. Remember he could have left last summer for Real Zaragoza (where he'd be on load previously) had he been that desperate for 1st team oppotunities.

 

[Grif SA]

*If* he does want to leave, I'd say swap him with Ezequiel Garay at Racing Santander. Last year Garay was the highest scoring defender in Europe bar Materazzi. And Racing stated they wanted Pique on a permanent transfer. However I'd prefer that he stay at United though. If he settles down a bit and realizes he's only 21, and that his time will come, then he will be one for the future.

 

[geoffraffe]

I think with united at the minute, that you need to be really exceptional to get a look in. There hasn't been a player who's come through the ranks, for years. I know Pique isn't exacty "Home Grown" but he's a perfect example of how hard it is for any unproven player, to break into the team.

I like having a few home grown players in the team. I think when the chips are down, they stand up to be counted first. Scholes, Giggs and Neville have proved this time and time again but they're coming towards the end of their careers and who will step in?

Unfotunitley Citeh have a great youth setup and as a young player, you know you'll get a chance if you're good enough. Will this lead to them having the pick of the young Manchester players?

Arsenal pretend to have a great youth setup but they buy the top talent at 16,17,18 and bring them on quickly. They haven't had a home grown lad sine Bentley and they sold him quick enough. Still these players are getting a chance.

I hope the like of Pique, Welbeck, Drinkwater and the rest of them, get a least a chance to prove themselves, otherwise what's the point in having a youth setup?

Matt Busby made Manchester the pride of Europe with his own players. Sir Alex did it again in the 90's. I just hope we haven't lost what Manchester United is all about.

 

[sparkic]

I hope he stays..his really good and has heaps of potential and is a good quality cb for the future. Thing with with this day and age is they all start playing first team football at a younger age and my fear is he might leave us just like Guiseppe Rossi did - in search for first team football. Yeah we could loan him out but he is our back up cb like he showed vs Arsenal and if we do loan him out we got to get someone in and that is why Fergie might as well sell him and get cash so he can purchase someone new. I hope we do not sell him and I hope he stays. We could do a loan swap but we might as well keep Pique here as a back up who is already used to the squad and staff and manchester the city and not having a new bloke come in and try to adjust.

 

[campbell16]

man utd should try their best to keep him great cover and could be in the first team one day