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Ferdinand set to snub US move

Rio Ferdinand is not keen on moving to America before the end of his current contract © PA Photos

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Rio Ferdinand wants to stay at Manchester United for another two years, according to sources close to the player.

Ferdinand has been linked with a move to Chicago Fire in the United States, but the central defender is not quite ready to follow the David Beckham path to America.

A source told ESPNsoccernet on Wednesday that Ferdinand is "very happy" at United, and there are no plans for him to leave.

Ferdinand has under two years left on a contract signed in 2008 to take him to the end of the 2012-13 season, and his camp have denied receiving interest from America.

The former England captain is 33 in November and is said to want to stay at a club with which he has a strong affinity. It cannot be ruled out, however, that Ferdinand might well have signed his final contract at Old Trafford.

When this contract expires, there is every chance Ferdinand will be lured to the States, in preference to Russia or the Middle East, where there are clubs now capable of paying him as much as his £130,000-week contract, or perhaps even more.

Although Ferdinand has been left out of the England squad for the final Euro 2012 qualifier, he still wants to be pushing for a place in the finals next summer. Ferdinand would also like a final crack at the World Cup two years later, and any move away from Old Trafford could wipe out a final opportunity on the world stage.

Those two years left at Old Trafford on his current contract are the perfect timescale in which to consider his future. And he would be in a far more powerful position to dictate his terms if he left Old Trafford on a free transfer.

The former Leeds and West Ham star has struggled with injury for the last three years and those problems are the reason why speculation over his future has suddenly resurfaced.

"It has been a very frustrating period for all concerned," Ferdinand's long-standing friend and representative Jamie Moralee told Press Association Sport. "It doesn't matter whether it is the 10th year, the 11th year or the 13th, when the time is right, we will sit down with the club and talk about it.

"But for now it is not on the agenda. The only thing that matters is getting back out on the pitch for Manchester United on a regular basis again because there is so much he still wants to achieve with them."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.