Rio Ferdinand

Rio Gavin Ferdinand (born 7 November 1978) is an English former professional footballer who played as a centre-back, and is now a television pundit for TNT Sports.

Rio Gavin Ferdinand was born on 7 November 1978 at King's College Hospital in Camberwell and grew up in Peckham.

He is the son of an Irish mother, Janice Lavender, and an Afro-Saint Lucian father, Julian Ferdinand.

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.

Both parents worked to support the family, his mother as a child carer and his father as a tailor.

His parents never married and they separated when he was 14 years old.

His father remained close, moving to a nearby estate, and took the kids to football training and to local parks.

Ferdinand attended Camelot Primary School.

At school, he focused on maths and revelled in the opportunity to perform before an audience during a school production of Bugsy Malone.

"'I always as a kid wanted to do something different, I'd get bored very easily – even playing football or hanging around with my mates. So travelling away from home, meeting new people. ... I enjoyed it.'"

He chose to attend Blackheath Bluecoat School to make new friends and settled in well, feeling his confidence growing.

His second year was marred by the death of a fellow pupil, Stephen Lawrence, and the event demonstrated the ever-present threat of violence.

Ferdinand enjoyed physical expression, taking part in not just football and gymnastics classes but drama, theatre and ballet too.

He 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.

Ferdinand attended the ballet classes, travelling to the city centre four days a week for four years.

Ferdinand's superior footballing abilities were evident even as a child: when he was 11 years old a youth coach, David Goodwin, remarked "I'm going to call you Pelé, son, I like the way you play."

Ferdinand was regularly playing in youth teams and at Eltham Town he played as an attacking midfielder but team scouts saw the young player had the physical potential to be a centre-back instead.

Teams vied for the young footballer's services and during his youth he trained with Charlton Athletic, Chelsea, Millwall and Queens Park Rangers.

Ferdinand was ever curious of different places and even travelled north to Middlesbrough's training ground, spending a good part of his school holidays in a bedsit just to be there.

London team West Ham United was to be his footballing home, however, and he joined their youth system in 1992.

He signed his first Youth Training Scheme contract in January 1994 and played alongside players such as Frank Lampard at the academy.

Success pending at club level, international football also began for Ferdinand; at 16 he joined the England youth-team squad to compete in their age group's UEFA European Championship, gaining his first experience of international competition.

Originally scouted by Frank Lampard, Ferdinand progressed through the youth-team ranks, earning a professional contract and a place in the first-team squad in the process.

Ferdinand began his football career playing for various youth teams, finally settling at West Ham United where he progressed through the youth ranks and made his professional Premier League debut in 1996.

He became a fan favourite, winning the Hammer of the Year award the following season.

On 5 May 1996, he made his senior team debut, as he came on as a substitute for Tony Cottee in the Hammers' last game of the season, a 1–1 home draw against Sheffield Wednesday.

He played 81 times for the England national team between 1997 and 2011, and was a member of three FIFA World Cup squads.

He is one of the most decorated English footballers of all time, regarded by many as one of England's greatest ever players.

He 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.

His achievements and footballing potential attracted Leeds United and he transferred to the club for a record-breaking fee of £18 million.

He spent two seasons at the club, becoming the team captain in 2001, before he joined Manchester United in July 2002 for around £30 million, breaking the transfer fee record once more.

At Manchester United, he won the Premier League, his first major club honour, in a successful first season at the club.

In September 2003, he missed a drugs test and was banned from football for eight months from January until September 2004, causing him to miss half a Premier League season, Manchester United's FA Cup triumph, and the Euro 2004 international competition.

Upon his return, he established himself in the Manchester United first team and received plaudits for his performances, featuring in the PFA Team of the Year four times in five years.

More club success followed with another Premier League win in the 2006–07 season and a Premier League and UEFA Champions League double the following year.

His career at United, in which he won six Premier League titles and 14 trophies, ended when his contract expired in 2014, and he subsequently joined Queens Park Rangers where he played for just one season before being released from the club as a result of their relegation from the Premier League.

He announced his retirement from professional football on 30 May 2015.

In September 2017, Ferdinand announced his intention to become a professional boxer, partly to help him cope with the death of his wife.

His brother, Anton, also a centre-back, last played for St Mirren.

Former England international striker Les Ferdinand and former Dagenham & Redbridge midfielder Kane Ferdinand are his cousins.