Soccer: Manchester United have offered a new contract to Rio Ferdinand to fight off growing interest from Chelsea which is likely to manifest itself in an official bid from Stamford Bridge at the end of the season, possibly with Damien Duff used as bait in a player-plus-cash exchange.
Chelsea have made inquires already about Ferdinand's rumoured willingness to return to London, via his agent Pini Zahavi, but United now want the suspended central defender to commit himself to improved terms, with a weekly salary of around £90,000, until 2009.
The irony will not be lost on United's supporters at the end of a season in which Ferdinand's missed drugs test and subsequent eight-month ban has contributed so much to their imminent surrender of the Premiership title, but Alex Ferguson said last night the England defender deserved his pay rise.
"We've been discussing it with his agent," said Ferguson, a close ally of Zahavi's. "He's only 24 and he could realistically play for us at the highest level for another 12 to 14 years. I think his form has been magnificent. You don't realise just how good a player he is until he's not there. To me, he's been terrific."
Ferguson's willingness to secure Ferdinand's future stems from knowledge that Zahavi also has close ties with Roman Abramovich at Chelsea as well as the London club's chief executive Peter Kenyon, and that, along with Real Madrid, they are probably the only club in Europe with the riches to prise him away from Old Trafford.
With Marcel Desailly likely to be moved on this summer, a centre-half is high on Chelsea's list of priorities, and it has been made clear to Ferdinand's advisers he has admirers at Stamford Bridge.
Duff's potential availability would almost certainly interest Ferguson, who was priced out of bidding for the Dubliner when he moved from Blackburn to Chelsea for £17 million last summer, but United's manager described the idea that he would be tempted to sell Ferdinand as "the biggest load of rubbish I have ever heard".
He went on to praise Ferdinand for the manner in which he had handled the stigma of being banned from playing until September 20th.
"He's done really well because it's not been easy for him," said Ferguson. "He's had a week's holiday but apart from that he has been training every day and doing a lot of charity work. The way I've tried to approach it with him is to pretend he's injured."
Desailly, meanwhile, was yesterday handed a three-game suspension from UEFA competitions, ending his involvement in this season's Champions League. Though it was missed by the referee, Desailly was pictured elbowing Monaco's striker Fernando Morientes at the Stade Louis II stadium on Tuesday. The Frenchman has the right of appeal, which he must lodge before midnight on Monday.
UEFA also confirmed a one-match ban for Monaco's Andreas Zikos, while noting the "unsporting behaviour and provocative attitude of Claude Makelele, who dived and feigned injury" to engineer Zikos's dismissal.
Diego Maradona was last night taken off an artificial respirator in his Buenos Aires hospital but remained in intensive care five days after being rushed to hospital with a swollen heart and breathing problems, a hospital statement said.
The hospital said the former Argentina World Cup winner's pneumonia was improving, though he was still taking drugs to keep his heart and blood circulation stable.
Italy's industry ministry has approved an attempt by insolvent food group Parmalat to place Serie A football club Parma under extraordinary administration, preparing the club for a sale, a judicial source said yesterday.
A Parma bankruptcy court will meet on Monday to declare the club insolvent, the source said.
Parmalat was declared insolvent last December after revealing a multi-billion-euro accounting hole.
Newspapers have reported that Parma - sixth in Serie A - have debts of €150-180 million.
Sporting Lisbon's Portugal defender Rui Jorge has tested positive for an anti-hay fever medicine his club doctor failed to declare in time and could miss out on playing in Euro 2004 in his country as a result.
Sporting doctor Jose Gomes Pereira said he was to blame for not notifying the country's national anti-doping council he had prescribed the medicine, which is allowed if declared.
The player could face suspension and missing Euro 2004. Portuguese Football Federation sources said a second sample needed to be tested and until the results of that were known Rui Jorge could continue to play.
If that sample is positive the federation would suspend the player and pass the case over to the Professional Football League, who would determine any punishment.
