Edwin van der Sar is best Manchester United keeper ever, says Rio Ferdinand

Rio Ferdinand has hailed Edwin van der Sar as the best goalkeeper he has ever played with.

Van der Sar cemented his reputation as arguably the best keeper in the world at the moment with a record 11th successive Premier League clean sheet in Tuesday's 5-0 rout of West Brom.

And Ferdinand predicted the 38-year-old Dutchman - who has a year left at United after this campaign - can play on past his 40th birthday in October 2010.

"Edwin's the best keeper I've ever played with, it's as simple as that," said centre-back Ferdinand. "The calmness and assuredness he brings to the back four in front of him is great.

"He's got another year after this one and I'm sure he has the capability to go on and do it again. I also don't think I've seen a goalkeeper with better feet than him."

The importance of Van der Sar to United in their bid to be champions for the third time in a row is highlighted by him being one of only two players to feature in all of the 11 shut-outs, the other being Nemanja Vidic.

While the defence has had a reshuffle after injury and suspension, Van der Sar has provided continuity and stability, enhancing his standing with his formidable form. For years, Sir Alex Ferguson failed to find a keeper with the presence and reliability to match that of United legend Peter Schmeichel, who left Old Trafford following the 1999 Treble success.

That problem ended with the recruitment of Van der Sar, who joined from Fulham for a bargain £2million in the summer of 2005.

And the United boss admitted he blundered by not signing the former Holland keeper earlier.

"We came close to getting Edwin in 1999," said Fergie when Van der Sar finally joined, after going through 10 keepers in a bid to find Schmeichel's successor.

"But we just weren't quick enough. I wish we'd got him then. It just goes down as one of those things you look back on and regret."

Ryan Giggs, who played alongside Schmeichel in United's all conquering spell in the 1990s, believes comparisons are unfair but admitted Van der Sar deserves to be ranked alongside the Dane.

Giggs said: "Is he as good as Peter? They're both great keepers but you can't really compare them.

They're brilliant keepers who have had great careers at club and international level.

"Right now, Edwin gives a calming influence throughout the team. He has great calmness on the ball when we play back passes to him and in general his goalkeeping is sound.

"And he's getting better with age. Obviously he has great players in front of him, but when he's called upon he never makes a mistake."

Ben Foster and Tomasz Kuszczak were expected to fight it out to be United's No.1 next season, but are unlikely to dethrone Van der Sar, whose sustained brilliance has raised the prospect of him carrying on beyond his current contract.

Van der Sar clutched the match ball to his chest following the Albion game as a memento of his new Premier League record of 1,032 minutes without conceding.

And although he could be forgiven for feeling invincible, he admitted the fear of seeing his incredible run come to an end was driving him to such extraordinary heights.

"The moment you start thinking you're invincible is the moment you start losing," said Van der Sar. "I decided to keep the match ball. A lot of players do it when they get a hat-trick, so I thought I should take it home.

"I had a couple of records in Holland, 10 games without conceding, as well nine successive clean sheets in the Champions League, so it's always nice to achieve these things.

"But it's easy to play behind this defence, whoever is in the back four, because they're so good. Everyone has qualities that complement each other, which is a credit to the players the manager has assembled."

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