Rio Ferdinand's agent has revealed the defender has agreed a new five-year deal with Manchester United.

The 29-year-old moved to Old Trafford from Leeds in 2002 and has gone on to establish himself as one of the top centre-backs in the Premier League.

There has been speculation of a move to Barcelona but United boss Alex Ferguson recently revealed talks over a contract extension had been ongoing for some time.

And Ferdinand now looks set to sign a long-term deal in the near future, with reports suggesting the agreement is worth £130,000-a-week (€160,000).

Agent Pini Zahavi is also confident Ferdinand will stay at United beyond the end of the new contract.

He insists the England defender is settled at Old Trafford and is ready to play on longer than Paolo Maldini, the 39-year-old Italy legend who is set to retire at the end of the season.

Zahavi told the Daily Express: "This new deal will take him beyond 34, but it won't be his last contract and in all probability it won't be his last contract at Manchester United.

"Rio is very, very happy there, he wanted to stay and they wanted him to stay. Of course he course he could have gone to another big club but he did not want to.

"I believe he can play longer than Maldini - and they believe so at Manchester United as well."