Nemanja Vidic is a player who is much loved at United, following a difficult start to his career at Old Trafford. Since settling, he has shown himself to be one of the best centre backs in the World, forming a solid partnership with Rio Ferdinand.

So, United fans were a little dumbfounded this morning when reading reports quoting Vidic as slagging off our beloved city.

“I will never stay to live in England, that’s for sure,” said Vidic. “You get only a brief glimpse of sunlight before it’s all cloudy again. The winters are mild but in summer the temperatures seldom go higher than 20C. And it rains, rains, rains. In future, I would like to test myself in another top league. I’m thinking of Spain. At least there will be no reason to complain about the weather. In England, they say that Manchester is the city of rain. Its main attraction is considered to be the timetable at the railway station, where trains leave for other, less rainy cities.”

Ouch.

Whilst I’d never criticise Vidic, for the fear of facing his wrath, I’m pleased to reveal I have no need to, with the Serbian quickly clarifying the reports later today.

Turns out Vidic has been misquoted and he was merely reflecting on the struggles he first faced when he joined the club, which he has previously spoken about publicly.

“I’d like to clarify that I did not make these particular remarks,” he said. “I spoke about the difficulty I had settling in to life in Manchester but that does not reflect how I feel now. I enjoy my life very much as a footballer at Manchester United and I’m very happy to be a part of this great club. I think I show that in the way I play every week. I also have far too much respect for the people of Manchester and England to criticise them in this way.”

Phew, well that’s good to know. The Rio-Vidic partnership has several quality years left in it yet and Nemanja would be a mug to leave this team!