Hierro ready to pledge future

Real Madrid veteran Fernando Hierro could well negotiate a new deal that would see him end his playing career at the Bernabeu.

The 33-year-old centre-back is under contract with the Spanish champions until June 2002.

But the player has not ruled out extending his stay for a further season, an idea that is shared by the club's directors. Hierro is one of the longest-serving members of the current squad, having joined the Merengues from Valladolid in 1989.

Now that Manolo Sanchis' footballing days are nearly over, Hierro will become the team's first captain and should be the first player to pass through the Real Madrid offices this summer to discuss his future.