Ji-Sung Park Earns a New Contract

Manchester United have confirmed that a new contract has been given to Park Ji-Sung. The South Korean was set to be out of a contract at the end of the season, but this new agreement will keep him at Old Trafford until June 2012.

Sir Alex Ferguson has often stated his respect and appreciation for 28-year-old Park, sentiments which were echoed in an improved deal. The Korean will earn £3.6m per year, a pay rise of around £800,000. This agreement will almost certainly make Patrice Evra happy, but will have mixed results from United supporters.

Park is a workhorse midfielder who seems to accept his role as a squad player. He doesn’t appear to make a whole lot of fuss, and can be counted on for a random goal on rare occasions. Nevertheless, he isn’t the most delicate player, and one could argue that a 28-year-old winger won’t be getting any better once he gets to be the wrong side of 30.

I have often mocked Park for being less-than-stellar when it comes to the technical components (first touch, second touch, third touch, etc) and for his inconsistency, but I think what it boils down to is that Park isn’t a “sexy footballer”. He isn’t going to give you electric runs or moments of genius (something I think a lot of people are still hoping to see from United this season). He is going to give you a lot of effort and a lot of loyalty. Remember that Park chose to sign for United in 2005, while other buyers were expressing a lot of interest. I certainly don’t rate him nearly as high as Fergie does, but I think it will end up being a useful extension over the next two-ish years.

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Category: Manchester United