Vidic: Man United Era Begins With Controversy

Filed in archive Players on December 27, 2005

Serbian defender Nemanja Vidic's name has been buzzing around football transfer rumor sites for the past few months. Hardly heard of before this year, Vidic emerged as a solid rock to help Serbia & Montenegro to its first ever World Cup while conceding only one goal in its group.

Now that the transfer of Vidic to Manchester United looks just about sealed, a controversy is emerging about the fee United paid Spartak Moscow for the player. Vidic supposedly had a pre-contract agreement with Fiorentina, but without Vidic triggering an escape clause in his Spartak contract by asking for a transfer, the Viola couldn't touch him so long as Spartak rejected the offer. In step United, who are reportedly paying twice as much in wages as Fiorentina offered, and a good deal higher in transfer fees than required if Vidic asked for a transfer himself, which would have seen him go for € 7 million instead of €10.5 million United reportedly paid, according to the Times. Liverpool were also interested in Vidic, whose transfer I have been watching since October when it was first rumored Fiorentina wanted him.

Was the sweetheart deal improper? It depends on your view of improper, but like an increasing number of transfers today, it looks less and less like fair play, and more like the high stakes global business football is beginning to emulate.