BY TIM PARSONS
England’s former captain, Rio Ferdinand has announced his retirement from football age 37. An efficient centreback player, he played for 81 times for the England national foot ball team between 1997 and 2011, and was a proud member of 3 World Cup Squads. The South London born player honed his skills with various youth teams finally establishing himself with West Ham.
He built solid foundations with a variety of youth teams winning the Hammer of the Year award . He became the youngest defender to play for England when he when he played his first senior international cap against Cameron in 1997 at the age of 19. He career soon blossomed as he was transferred to Leeds United for a record £18m at the time, after which he became team captain. He joined Manchester United in July, 2002 an estimate of £30m, thereby breaking the transfer fee record. His one hitch came when he was banned for 8 months after missing a drug test, forcing him to miss Manchester United’s F.A cup triumph and the 2004 European Championships
One stressful time for him was when his brother, Anton- a centre back for Reading- became embroiled in an altercation with John Terry over allegations he was subjected to racial abuse. Ferdinand showed staunch support for his brother, fighting his corner and insisting that Terry be brought to account. In an explosive autobiography, he referred to John Terry as ”the biggest idiot” and accused his former close team mate Ashley Cole of betrayal. Lip readers were brought in to view the tape that depicted the moment of the alleged offence, and they did confirm Terry was guilty of the offence, but he was later acquitted by a court.
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The worse calamity for Ferdinand came when he sadly lost his precious wife to cancer early this year. Ferdinand’s career had effectively done its full course when his contract expired in 2014, though he proceeded to play a season for Queens Park Rangers before announcing his retirement. We wish him the best of luck in his future endeavours and hope him strength in coping with life without his wife.
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