Van der Sar extends contract with Manchester United

Manchester, England:

Manchester United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar agreed to a one-year contract extension on Friday with the Premier League leader. The 36-year-old Dutchman has brought stability to United's defense since joining from Fulham in 2005. He immediately took over as United's No. 1 goalkeeper from Roy Carroll, now at West Ham, and American Tim Howard, on loan at Everton. "Since Edwin joined us, he has been absolutely fantastic and he more than deserves another year," manager Alex Ferguson said. "We treat all players in that age bracket the same in terms of giving them an extra year, but that is not to say he cannot go on from there too. "His personality and experience has helped us tremendously since he has joined us, which is what we needed." Ferguson said Van der Sar has been the club's best goalkeeper since Peter Schmeichel, the Denmark international who left Old Trafford after the 1999 Champions League win. Since then, Massimo Taibi, Mark Bosnich and Fabien Barthez are among those who have played in goal for United. "He is a winner," Ferguson said. "He has brought with him a strength of character. He really looks after himself and he trains very well. There are many players who, having achieved what he has done, want to take it easy. But he has a desire to carry on. He can go on until he is 40, as some goalkeepers have done." (AP)