Pini Zahavi is football’s one and only superagent. He has accomplished some of the biggest and most controversial deals in English football, whether it is a club that is being bought or whether it is a player. Roman Abramovich’s acquisition of Chelsea, the Ashley Cole ‘tapping-up’ affair and Rio Ferdinand’s controversial move from Leeds to Manchester United have all been carried out under the watchful eyes of Pini Zahavi. Zahavi, who is an extremely reclusive man, has today come out in support of his client, friend and protégé Rio Ferdinand by trying to explain the reasons behind Rio’s bewildering loss of form that has seen him commit a series of uncharacteristic blunders. Zahavi reckons that it is Ferdinand’s tryst with injuries that is behind his lack of pace and concentration which is ultimately being manifested in the form of mistakes.
“All the speculation about Rio’s ability is totally incorrect. Rio will be back to his best when he has finally cleared up a succession of injuries. He has had a lot of bad luck with injuries this season. He has had about four injuries, and because of his desire to do well for Manchester United he will turn out even if he is not 100%, and for him that has been a big mistake, because it has affected his form.”
“But don’t worry, Rio is the same player, with the same abilities, and he will show it the minute he is back fully fit again. At the moment he has a calf injury and that is the reason he will be missing from the Manchester United team, not because he has been dropped. Both Rio and [Nemanja] Vidic have injuries and it is a difficult time for United.”
I am not sure about the injuries but Zahavi is right about it being a torrid time for United. Our usually reliable defence has been conceding a lot of goals which, when coupled with our inconsistent attack, is proving to be a nuisance for our title winning chances. Rio is particularly in danger of losing his place in both United and England’s starting line-ups and seriously needs to up the level of his performances.
There has been some talk in the newspapers about Rio Ferdinand making a move to Spurs (where he will be re-united with ex-boss Harry Redknapp) in the near future. The rumour however has been nipped in the bud by a source no less credible than Zahavi himself.
“I don’t know anything about any move to Spurs in the summer, I have never heard of it.”
Seeing as Zahavi is one of the most well-informed men in world football, it can safely be said that if he hasn’t heard anything about it, then maybe no one has. However, the question is- Do we want Rio in the team? Is it the correct time to off-load him when there are still takers for him? To these, only Sir Alex has the answers. As fans the best we can do is to hope that Rio gets back to his best.
(You can find out a little more about Zahavi by reading this)
