Vidic: I was always going to stay
Manchester United defender Nemanja Vidic has said that he was always going to stay at the club this summer despite speculation linking with him a move away.
Vidic had been linked with a move to Real Madrid where he would join up with Jose Mourinho and form the basis of the Spanish club's defence for the approaching domestic season.
However, Vidic is a central figure in the United team and he has said that he can't understand why people do not think it was an easy choice for him to stay at United.
He has many qualities that ensure he is an important player for United and he is likely to start a lot of games over the course of the Premier League season. However, there is still time left in his career for him to move to another club if he chose to.
Importance and quality
Vidic is one of United's main defenders and one of the players that Sir Alex Ferguson will automatically write down on the team sheet each week. He is guaranteed to start at United when he is fit because he is a much better defender than some of the fringe players at the former Premier League champions.
He is extremely aggressive and that makes him ideal for English football. He gets away with a lot in the Premier League and may have been booked and suspended had he chosen to move to Spain. This is because the referees in Spain give much more protection to the players.
Vidic has played 126 times for United and knows how they play. He's built up a good level of experience and he knows where to be on the pitch going forward and where to fill in when there are gaps in the defence.
He said: "I don't know why people think it was a difficult decision. I always said I am happy here. I never spoke about my future. I know there was all this speculation but I never said I wanted to go. There was nothing new. I am very happy to be here."
The future
Vidic is only 28 years of age and this means he can still play at the highest level for the next four or five years at the very least. Although he says he is happy at United right now, a time may come where a younger player takes his place in the side.
This will be when the Serbian is most likely to move and seek a new challenge in football. There would be no point in him going to the likes of Real Madrid right now because there is no guarantee that he would be given the starting place and the security that Ferguson offers him at Manchester United.
Betting advice
Vidic will play a key role over the course of the season for United. If he stays fit and plays a lot of games then the United defence will be well organised, compact and efficient. This means they will concede fewer goals and will lose fewer games. This will increase their chances of winning the Premier League and they would be well worth a bet even if Vidic had left the club.
He's scored nine times so far in his time at United. He always goes up for free kicks and corners and can score the odd important goal every now and then. Have a punt on him to score when United are playing a smaller or less physical team. There is a good chance Vidic will be on the score sheet and the odds will be good because he's a defender.
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