Van der Sar says new season may be his last at Old Trafford

SEOUL: Manchester United keeper Edwin van der Sar says the new season could be his last at Old Trafford.

The Dutch goalkeeper, who has already announced that he will end his international career following next year’s European Championships, has just one year remaining on his current United contract.

A question mark has been hanging over the 36-year-old’s first-team position after a number of high-profile mistakes, including another howler in United’s 2-2 draw with Urawa Red Diamonds in Japan on Tuesday.

With United’s England goalkeeper Ben Foster out for nine months to injury, Van der Sar is likely to hold off Poland’s Tomasz Kuszczak for a starting place when Alex Ferguson’s side begin their Premiership campaign in August.

But there have been no talks yet on a contract extension, and whether he remains at the club for another season is something that Van der Sar has yet to address.

“When you are 28, you want to sign a four- or five-year deal to end your career somewhere. And at 21, with a long career ahead of you, you are happy to sign a long-term deal,” he said.

“But at my age, you have to take it on a year-to-year basis. That is best for the club’s point of view and the players,” he said.

“You always have to ensure you are still enjoying your game. And if you don’t have 100% desire anymore, then you must stop.”

Van der Sar, who may be rested in order for Kuszczak to play against FC Seoul today, admitted that he has not been happy with his form in recent games.

“I was disappointed with some of my performances at the end of last season. There wasn’t the same consistency I had had during most of the season and I don’t know why that was,” he said.

Meanwhile Ferguson says his club face a tough task against FC Seoul in the World Cup Stadium today.

“We’ve brought Park Ji-sung, our FC Seoul expert, along with us on this part of the tour and he could be my assistant for this game,” he said.

“He has warned me that they are a very strong team, and that reflects the progress made by Korean football in recent years.

“The semi-final appearance in the 2002 World Cup was a fantastic achievement and their progress has been outstanding.” – AFP

source: The Star; Friday July 20, 2007