Moyes signs six-year deal at Manchester United

David Moyes has been appointed as the new manager of Manchester United after agreeing a six-year deal.

The 50-year-old, who will replace Alex Ferguson on July 1, revealed his desire to leave current club Everton earlier Thursday.

Moyes, who has been in charge at Goodison Park since 2002, will take charge of the club’s final two Premier League games of the season before making the move to Old Trafford.

Read: United ‘to name Moyes as Ferguson’s replacement’

“It’s a great honor to be asked to be the next manager of Manchester United,” Moyes told United’s official website.

“I am delighted that Sir Alex saw fit to recommend me for the job. I have great respect for everything he has done and for the football club.

“I know how hard it will be to follow the best manager ever, but the opportunity to manage Manchester United isn’t something that comes around very often and I’m really looking forward to taking up the post next season.

“I have had a terrific job at Everton, with a tremendous chairman and Board of Directors and a great set of players.

“Between now and the end of the season, I will do everything in my power to make sure we finish as high as possible in the table.

“Everton’s fantastic fans have played a big part in making my years at Goodison so enjoyable and I thank them wholeheartedly for the support they have given me and the players. Everton will be close to me for the rest of my life.”

Read: United fans thank Ferguson

Moyes has been publicly endorsed by Ferguson, who says his fellow Scot is the perfect man to take over at the helm.

“When we discussed the candidates that we felt had the right attributes we unanimously agreed on David Moyes,” Ferguson told the club’s official website.

“David is a man of great integrity with a strong work ethic. I’ve admired his work for a long time and approached him as far back as 1998 to discuss the position of Assistant Manager here.

“He was a young man then at the start of his career and has since gone on to do a magnificent job at Everton.

“There is no question he has all the qualities we expect of a manager at this Club.”

Delighted

The appointment has been met with approval by leading players with defender Rio Ferdinand claiming the squad was “delighted.”

He told the club’s televisions station: “I think it was important that the club made a decision quickly and it all got sorted out. I think the club have acted impeccably in that sense.

“The manager, I’m sure, thought long and hard about his own decision, he made it and then the club acted swiftly and it’s great to see the new manager coming in.”

“Another reason I think it’s a good appointment is that David Moyes will be very, very open and sympathetic to the traditions of the club and he’ll try to continue that and not come in and make changes in terms of the whole characteristics of the club.”

Moyes told Everton chairman Bill Kenwright of his desire to join Manchester United and succeed Ferguson on Wednesday.

Moyes has never won a major trophy with Everton after more than a decade in the English top flight, but has consistently produced competitive teams on a tight budget.

The Liverpool-based side has finished outside the Premier League’s top-10 only three times since he took over in 2002, and qualified for the European Champions League in 2005.

“Everton can confirm that David Moyes will leave the Club at the end of the season,” the Merseyside club said in a statement.

“The manager met chairman Bill Kenwright on Wednesday May 8 and confirmed his desire to join Manchester United.”

The statement added: “The chairman, on behalf of the club, would like to place on record his thanks to David for the massive contribution he has made to Everton since his arrival in March 2002. He has been an outstanding manager.

Moyes took charge of Everton on over 500 occasions with the club qualifying for Europe four times during his time as manager.

His final two games as Everton manager will be against West Ham United and Chelsea.

“Everton officials will start the search for a replacement manager immediately,” added the Everton statement.

Everton’s Belgian international Marouane Fellaini ‏tweeted: “Many Thanks Coach.”

Moyes will now be in charge of a club that under Ferguson twice won Europe’s top competition and lifted the English championship 13 times following the 71-year-old’s arrival in 1986.

Read: Manchester United will survive

United is one of the world’s biggest sporting brands, worth a reported $3.17 billion, with a fan base of more than 650 million worldwide.

Moyes arrives with United having sealed a series of lucrative sponsorship deals aimed at maximizing off-pitch revenue in order to be competitive under European football’s financial fair play rules.

The club has been repaying large amounts of debt since it was bought by the American Glazer family in a highly leveraged £800 million ($1.25 billion) takeover in 2005.

This month United reported record third-quarter earnings of £91.7 million ($142 million) but an 18% increase in operating expenses plus payments on a gross debt that has fallen to £367.6 million ($572 million) meant a pre-tax loss of £3.15 million ($4.9 million) for the period.

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Whether Moyes will be given significant funds to strengthen the squad for United’s EPL title defense remains to be seen – Borussia Dortmund’s top scorer Robert Lewandowski has long been linked with a move to Old Trafford, but the Poland striker would command a hefty fee and wage packet.

United did not have to pay Everton compensation for Moyes, as his contract had been due to expire in July.

Moyes may need to find a replacement for Wayne Rooney, who has told the club he wants to leave according to British reports Thursday – but United said he is not for sale.

Moyes gave Rooney his debut as a 16-year-old at Everton but they fell out when the England striker left for Old Trafford in 2004. Moyes later sued the player and his publisher over remarks made in his autobiography, but they settled out of court.

Rooney handed in a transfer request in late 2010, but was persuaded to stay by Ferguson and rewarded with a lucrative new contract that still has two years to run.