Rio Ferdinand still has future at Old Trafford

Alex Ferguson has stressed Rio Ferdinand is still very much part of his plans at Old Trafford despite having just over one year to run on his contract and reaching 33 years of age.

Ferdinand has struggled in recent years with injuries and although he is no longer Manchester United captain, his manager is happy for him to stay after his current deal expires.

The centre back has failed to force his way back into England’s Euro 2012 plans and could play at club level a lot longer than people are anticipating, and become something of a defender in the AC Milan mould who are famed for playing well into their thirty’s or even fourty’s at times, but then again the likes of Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes probably make Rio feel that bit younger anyways!

"It is down to how he feels physically himself”. Ferguson told SkySports about the prospect of offering Ferdinand a new contract.

"He is still young for a centre-back, in normal terms you would expect a centre-back with his athleticism to play well into their thirties anyway.

"We all know about his back problem, so we've had to manage that.

"He has adapted really well to the challenge of making sure he is fit and fresh to play in the games when we need him.

"How long he goes on for is all down to how he feels physically, other than that he has no issues at all.

"I keep thinking I signed Rio three or four years ago, I forget he's been here for almost 10 years now," he said.

"He has taken on that role of the influential person in the dressing room. He is great with the players.

"If you can keep players long enough for their influence to spread - and in the modern game it's difficult to keep players for five or six years - they can take over from the older players as they disappear”

@simonblaquiere1

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