Rio Gavin Ferdinand was born on 7 November 1978 and is an English former professional footballer who played as a centre-back, and is a television pundit for BT Sport.
75 Facts About Rio Ferdinand
2.
Rio Ferdinand played 81 times for the England national team between 1997 and 2011, and was a member of three FIFA World Cup squads.
3.
Rio Ferdinand is one of the most decorated English footballers of all time and regarded by many as one of England's greatest ever players.
4.
Rio Ferdinand became a fan favourite, winning the Hammer of the Year award the following season.
5.
Rio Ferdinand earned his first senior international cap in a match against Cameroon in 1997, setting a record as the youngest defender to play for England at the time.
6.
Rio Ferdinand announced his retirement from professional football on 30 May 2015.
7.
In September 2017, Ferdinand announced his intention to become a professional boxer, partly to help him cope with the death of his wife.
8.
Rio Gavin Ferdinand was born on 7 November 1978 at King's College Hospital in Camberwell and grew up in Peckham.
9.
Rio Ferdinand is the son of an Irish mother, Janice Lavender, and an Afro-Saint Lucian father, Julian Ferdinand.
10.
Rio Ferdinand grew up in Peckham in a large family, his mother was one of six children and his father arrived in Britain with ten other family members.
11.
Rio Ferdinand's father remained close, moving to a nearby estate, and took the kids to football training and to local parks.
12.
Rio Ferdinand chose to attend Blackheath Bluecoat School to make new friends and settled in well, feeling his confidence growing.
13.
Rio Ferdinand enjoyed physical expression, taking part in not just football and gymnastics classes but drama, theatre and ballet too.
14.
Rio Ferdinand was an able child: he represented Southwark in gymnastics at the London Youth Games, by age 10 he had been invited to train at the Queens Park Rangers academy, and at age 11 he won a scholarship to attend the Central School of Ballet in London.
15.
Rio Ferdinand attended the ballet classes, travelling to the city centre four days a week for four years.
16.
Rio Ferdinand signed his first Youth Training Scheme contract in January 1994 and played alongside players such as Frank Lampard at the academy.
17.
Originally scouted by Frank Lampard, Rio Ferdinand progressed through the youth-team ranks, earning a professional contract and a place in the first-team squad in the process.
18.
Rio Ferdinand played 10 games for Bournemouth before returning to West Ham in January 1997.
19.
Years later, Rio Ferdinand admitted he sat in the office of Leeds chairman Peter Ridsdale for almost six hours to force the transfer through.
20.
On 22 July 2002, Rio Ferdinand joined fellow Premier League side Manchester United on a five-year deal to become the most expensive British footballer in history at the time and the world's most expensive defender for a second time, a title he had lost in 2001 to Lilian Thuram.
21.
Rio Ferdinand went on to win the Premier League title with Manchester United in his first season at the club.
22.
Rio Ferdinand collected a winner's medal in the 2006 League Cup, with runners-up medals in the 2003 League Cup and the 2005 FA Cup.
23.
Rio Ferdinand had left after training to go shopping, only to remember and attempt to return, only to be told it was too late.
24.
Rio Ferdinand later undertook the test and passed, and later offered to have a hair follicle test, but the FA turned down the offer.
25.
Rio Ferdinand later reflected on the saga, saying how he used it as motivation to change the views of United's supporters from negative to positive.
26.
Rio Ferdinand followed this later in the month with a powerfully headed goal against West Bromwich Albion.
27.
On 22 January 2006, Rio Ferdinand scored a last minute winner against Liverpool at Old Trafford.
28.
Just three days later, Rio Ferdinand scored his first European goal for United by opening the scoring against Dynamo Kyiv, with a superb header.
29.
On 6 April 2008, against Middlesbrough, Rio Ferdinand limped out of the match due to a foot injury.
30.
Rio Ferdinand claimed to have merely brushed her with his foot.
31.
Rio Ferdinand said he had apologised and sent the steward some flowers.
32.
However, Wray showed the bruise on her leg to the media, and her husband claimed that Rio Ferdinand had not apologised or sent flowers.
33.
On 21 May 2008, Rio Ferdinand captained Manchester United to a Champions League Final victory versus Chelsea.
34.
Rio Ferdinand accepted the trophy together with Ryan Giggs, as Giggs was the on field captain for most of the matches during that season during Gary Neville's absence due to injury.
35.
Rio Ferdinand returned to action on 28 January 2010, but was banned for four games after being found guilty of violent conduct for elbowing Hull City's Craig Fagan.
36.
Rio Ferdinand captained the side and played the full 90 minutes in a goalless draw.
37.
Rio Ferdinand was taken off after 45 minutes along with defensive partner Nemanja Vidic and replaced by Jonny Evans and Phil Jones respectively.
38.
Rio Ferdinand escaped any punishment from UEFA for the incident.
39.
Rio Ferdinand was not offered an extension when that contract expired, and agreed to leave Manchester United on 12 May 2014.
40.
On 17 July 2014, Rio Ferdinand signed for newly promoted Premier League club Queens Park Rangers on a one-year contract.
41.
In October 2014, Rio Ferdinand confirmed in an interview on The Jonathan Ross Show that he would retire at the end of the season, saying "I'm not fearful of retirement, I'm looking forward to it, I can see some good stuff hopefully happening ahead".
42.
Rio Ferdinand made only 12 appearances for QPR in his only season with the club.
43.
On 30 May 2015, Rio Ferdinand announced his retirement from professional football, three days after his departure from QPR.
44.
Rio Ferdinand was capped 81 times for England, making him England's second most capped black player behind Ashley Cole with 107.
45.
Rio Ferdinand scored three goals for England, the first in the 2002 World Cup second round match against Denmark.
46.
At the age of 19 years and 8 days, Rio Ferdinand earned his first full England cap as a substitute in a friendly against Cameroon on 15 November 1997, making him the youngest defender to play for England at the time.
47.
Rio Ferdinand would have made an even earlier debut in September had he not been charged with drink-driving in the build-up to England's 1998 World Cup qualifier against Moldova.
48.
Rio Ferdinand was selected as one of England's two first-choice centre-backs at the 2002 and 2006 FIFA World Cups, wearing the number 5 shirt.
49.
On 25 March 2008, it was announced that Rio Ferdinand would wear the captain's armband for Fabio Capello's second game in charge of the national team, ahead of John Terry, Steven Gerrard or David Beckham, who some believed would be named captain to mark his 100th cap for his country.
50.
On 5 February 2010, Rio Ferdinand replaced John Terry as captain of England.
51.
Rio Ferdinand was left out of Roy Hodgson's squad for Euro 2012, leading to strong speculation this was to avoid potential conflict with John Terry, who was included in the squad, due to Terry's upcoming trial for racially abusing Rio Ferdinand's brother Anton.
52.
On 14 March 2013, Rio Ferdinand was recalled to the England squad for the first time under Hodgson for England's 2014 World Cup qualifiers against San Marino and Montenegro, though subsequently Rio Ferdinand pulled out of the squad on 18 March due to 'fitness concerns'.
53.
Rio Ferdinand said he was "gutted" at having to withdraw but said it was the "right decision".
54.
In May 2013, Rio Ferdinand announced his retirement from international football, saying that "it's the right time to make room for young players and focus on the club career".
55.
Rio Ferdinand was considered an atypical defensive product of English football due to his more elegant, graceful, and "continental" rather than physical style of defensive play; in particular, he was singled out for his unique technical ability, skill, balance, and confidence on the ball, despite his height, as well as his composure in possession, distribution with either foot, and his ability to carry the ball forward or play it out from the back on the ground.
56.
Rio Ferdinand was an athletic and physically strong defender, who was reliable in the air, although at times he was criticised in the media for his aerial game, as well as his ability to defend high balls and set pieces, in particular in his youth.
57.
In September 2017, Rio Ferdinand announced that he was launching a career to become a professional boxer.
58.
Rio Ferdinand's move into the ring was sponsored by betting company Betfair, who assisted him in attempting to qualify for his British Boxing Board of Control licence before he began training and competing.
59.
Rio Ferdinand never had a competitive fight and although he has been in the gym, there is a difference between being in the gym and boxing.
60.
Rio Ferdinand has several brothers and sisters: one brother and three sisters on his father's side and a brother and sister from his mother's remarriage.
61.
In 2010, Rio Ferdinand unsuccessfully sued the Sunday Mirror to prevent the publication of a story about an alleged affair with Carly Storey.
62.
On 27 September 2019, Rio Ferdinand married for the second time, to Kate Wright.
63.
In June 2020, Rio Ferdinand and Wright announced that they were expecting their first child together, the child, a boy, was born on 18 December 2020.
64.
Rio Ferdinand set up the Live the Dream Foundation charity in December 2009 to provide education and employment opportunities for children.
65.
Rio Ferdinand's words were condemned as "insensitive and untimely" by Professional Footballers' Association chief Clarke Carlisle.
66.
In October 2014, Rio Ferdinand was again charged by the FA for using offensive language on Twitter, after referring to the mother of a critic as a "sket", a Jamaican slang word for a promiscuous female.
67.
In March 2015, it was announced that Rio Ferdinand would be the new face of online casino Casino Floor.
68.
In September 1997, Rio Ferdinand was convicted of drink-driving and given a one-year driving ban.
69.
Rio Ferdinand had been breathalysed after driving on the morning after a night out, and was found to be one point over the limit.
70.
Rio Ferdinand was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 2022 Birthday Honours for services to association football and charity, having set up the Rio Ferdinand Foundation in 2022, a charity which works with young people and aids community development.
71.
Rio Ferdinand was sponsored by sportswear company Nike and appeared in Nike commercials.
72.
In June 2006, ahead of the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Ferdinand presented the TV show Rio's World Cup Wind-Ups, in which he carried out a series of practical jokes on his England teammates.
73.
Rio Ferdinand made his first foray into the world of cinema in late 2008, financing and becoming an executive producer of Alex de Rakoff's film Dead Man Running.
74.
In 2008, Rio Ferdinand filmed a documentary about Peckham, aiming to persuade youngsters away from a life of crime.
75.
In March 2017, Ferdinand discussed strategies for coping with bereavement in the BBC One documentary Rio Ferdinand: Being Mum and Dad.