That ‘one year left on my contract’ is turning into a quite popular phrase among footballers and their agents these days. In recent years, the clubs have seen an increased number of players who are dragging negotiations about extension (some of them deliberately) and then they go into that last year, when they have the total power over the club: Pay me, or I’m off next year for free. And Manchester United are in that situation for not one, but two players now, since Jesse Lingard turned down the latest contract offer from the Red Devils. Further south, in London, Antonio Rudiger and director Marina Granovskaia are far, far apart in their contract negotiations. Man Utd pay off the entire Ronaldo transfer in a single weekend by selling his shirtsESPN report that Lingard has turned down an approach from the club, instead keen to ensure he is given regular first-team opportunities before making his decision on whether to stay or go. And considering that Red Devils are stacked up front (Sancho, Greenwood, Rashford, Ronaldo, Cavani), this request doesn’t seem to be a real one. Unless some of those players are injured or suffer a loss of form, Lingard can hope only for some FA cup appearances or occasional Premier League starts. And United’s tactics from the recenly shut transfer window of sticking with their 3.8 billion Ksh evaluation of Lingard can now come back to haunt them.Ronaldo: Messi is my biggest rival, but we know who is the bestSimilar situation is in London, where a steady defender Antonio Rudiger is also in the last year of his contract with Chelsea, and has been evaluated as one of the key first team members by coach Tuchel himself. That makes Granovskaia’s job even more difficult, since the Blues can’t just refuse the demands and leave the table. What is more worrying is that if Chelsea somehow miss the opportunity to extend Rudiger, they will be forced to change the entire backline in June 2022. Thiago Silva will be 37-years-old in a couple of weeks and Spanish international Cesar Azpilicueta also just turned 32.They are clearly not the future, Rudiger is.
