Leeds agree Ferdinand departure

Manchester United FC have agreed to buy Rio Ferdinand from Leeds United AFC for a British record fee of €46.8m after a deal was struck between the two clubs this afternoon.

Noon showdown
Earlier today United and Leeds agreed to scrap the noon deadline for the transfer of Ferdinand. Elland Road chairman Peter Ridsdale had insisted on the deadline after receiving an offer believed to be in the region of €30m for the England defender.

Talking point
Ridsdale spent the morning locked in talks with Old Trafford chief executive Peter Kenyon, conducting negotiations with his counterpart from his holiday home in the south of France.

'He will be a United player'
And although United have been unavailable for comment, in a statement made later, Ridsdale said: "The increase in Rio Ferdinand's valuation since his €28m transfer from West Ham clearly signals a significant return on our original investment. Subject to him agreeing personal terms and passing a medical, he will be a Manchester United player. Everyone at Leeds wishes him all the best in his future career.''

Sixth most expensive
Leeds were always looking for a fee of around €45m for Ferdinand, signed from West Ham United FC in November 2000. The defender, who has served less than two years of a five-year contract, asked for a transfer last week and if he agrees personal terms and passes a medical tomorrow, he will become the sixth most expensive transfer in the footballing world.

No secret
United manager Sir Alex Ferguson had made no secret of his desire to sign Ferdinand to strengthen his side's bid to win the UEFA Champions League when they host this season's final. The deal, which exceeds the €43m that United paid S.S. Lazio for Juan Sebastián Veron last summer, would mean that Old Trafford would house the three most expensive footballers in Britain.

'Best price available'
"I'm not happy as a Leeds fan because I didn't want him to leave,'' Ridsdale said. "But when your captain says he wants to leave you have to listen - and I think we've got the best price available. I'm satisfied today I've done the best job for Leeds United. I didn't want to sell him but at the end of the day they're the only club who came in for him."

Lack of ambition?
Ridsdale was also unimpressed with claims that the sale of Leeds' prize asset to the Premiership favourites represents a lack of ambition at Elland Road. "People need to look at how much we've invested in the last three or four years - we're hardly a selling club. The only player who has left, is Rio - which puts us in a position to strengthen further."

Record fee
If, as expected, the moves goes ahead, Ferdinand will become the most expensive defender in world football, partly due to the fact that he excelled at the 2002 FIFA World Cup finals, playing a particularly important role in England's victory against Argentina, and scoring in the second round defeat of Denmark.

Defensive target
Ferguson has been on the lookout for central defenders since last year's sale of Jaap Stam to Lazio, and last week admitted that his major target was Ferdinand: "If he is available then we would be interested." United begin their Champions League campaign in the third qualifying round after losing their grip on the Premiership title last season, finishing outside the top two for the first time in over a decade.

Venables task
New Leeds manager Terry Venables had hoped to hold on to Ferdinand, with other squad members Olivier Dacourt, Michael Duberry and Robbie Keane expected also to move, but the size of the fee will allow the former England national coach to strengthen his team prior to their UEFA Cup and FA Premiership fixtures.