RIO FERDINAND is considering an offer to move to club football in China when his contract at Manchester United finishes at the end of next season. If he decides to take up the option to move it would end an 11-year career at Old Trafford although it is believed the defender, who would be approaching his 35th birthday by the close of 2012-13, has no plans to retire from playing for England and wants to continue playing for his country beyond this summer’s European Championship.
A move to China would prove lucrative for Ferdinand and he would follow Nicolas Anelka, who in January moved from Chelsea to Shanghai Shenhua for wages in the region of €210,000 a week. It is understood the club who wish to sign Ferdinand are not Shenhua.
If the 33-year-old is intrigued by the move Alex Ferguson may face a fight to keep him despite United’s manager stating in the past week Ferdinand’s experience is invaluable to the younger players. “He has taken on that role of the influential person in the dressingroom. It’s not easy but the longer they stay here the better the influence spreads to them and they can take over from the older players as they disappear,” Ferguson said.
Ferguson acknowledged how the defender appears to be winning the battle with injury and his advancing years. In November the manager said Ferdinand could no longer rely on his pace, saying he had “lost the yard he had five years ago” and would have to tailor his game to fight off competition from Chris Smalling and Phil Jones who were signed over the past two years as eventual successors.
In the build up to last Monday’s win over Fulham the Scot talked of how Ferdinand has adjusted his game: “It’s not surprised me in the sense he’s still young for a centre-back . . . but he had the back problem which we all know about. So we’ve had to manage that and he has adapted really well to it.”
Ferdinand has started 21 of United’s 30 league matches this campaign and he should again for Monday evening’s trip to Blackburn Rovers. United won their record 19th title at Ewood Park last season and on the opposing side that day was Jones, who said the experience helped convince him to move from Blackburn to Old Trafford in the summer.
“That is exactly why I left,” Jones said. “I had some fond memories from my time at Blackburn and there are some wonderful people at the club. But I wanted to win trophies and become part of a team with a massive background, which United have.”
The defender, who respects the way Steve Kean has turned around Rovers’ fortunes this season, added: “They will be getting their tactics sorted and we need to be right at the top of our game. Steve Kean got a lot of stick and came under a lot of pressure. But you don’t hear a lot about Blackburn or their manager these days. He has turned it around and deserves a lot of credit.”
