Rio Ferdinand--Five Star--The Biography (20 page)

Rio’s appearance, on a list of the top ten richest footballers in Europe, seemed to confirm his extraordinary rise to the top. At number four, with an estimated fortune put at £5.8 million, it must sometimes have seemed like a fairy tale to the young star.

Now 24 years of age, the time had really come when his future talents would have to be superseded by his existing skills. No more Rednapps or O’Learys to heap praise upon the up-and-coming star. Now it was sink or swim time and he was playing among the sharks in every sense of the word.

In one magazine interview Rio even admitted, ‘I do feel blessed. I’ve got the money to look after my mum, my dad, my family and those people close to me. If I want to go out and buy them a present, I can. And why not?

‘If you want to stay in touch with reality and be true to yourself, you have to remember your roots, what they are all about and what they mean to you. It keeps you grounded. But I’d still be playing football if I wasn’t being paid for it.’

Rio’s sensitive side came into play following his move to Manchester United when a replica of his United shirt and name was used to advertise an arms company. Using the slogan ‘Who do you think spends this much on defence every season?’ BAE Systems’ advert was a blatant intrusion
into Rio’s life. He immediately ordered lawyers to pursue a case against the company with his spokesman telling journalists: ‘It’s fair to say we’re not happy. There is no way Rio wants to be associated with an arms company.’ But the incident did highlight one surprising issue; Rio apparently had not registered his name and shirt number as a trademark. However, the advert had used a slightly different strip from the actual Manchester United colours so it did not breach any laws.

Back on his childhood stomping ground, Rio came to the rescue after hearing that the junior football club where he once trained was in danger of folding through lack of funds. The Red Lions Boys Club in Surrey Quays needed to raise £5,000 to cover debts and service bills. The young players also needed new kit. Rio’s new agent Danny Crerand played down the player’s involvement. ‘I’ve sorted out what Rio is going to do,’ said Crerand. ‘But it’s a private matter and I don’t want to go into it.’

In November 2002, it seemed that Leeds United were unlikely to ever receive the full reported £30 million from Rio’s transfer. The only way this would happen was if United won the Champions League, Premiership and FA Cup plus the League Cup, twice in the next five years – an extremely tough feat.

In fact, the deal between Manchester United and Leeds had involved a downpayment of just £13 million in July when Rio signed with another £13 million to be paid a year later. It was also reported that Leeds had been very keen to give their fans the impression the transfer was for £30 million cash in order to ‘water down’ their fans’ anger at the deal.

United’s Premiership title bid had got off to a rocky start with a run of injuries and mixed results. Initially, they
excelled in the Champions League but failed on the domestic front. But their league challenge firmly got back on track with a victory over Liverpool at Anfield with Diego Forlan scoring both goals in a 2-1 win. In December 2002, United also managed impressive victories against Arsenal and Newcastle United. In the Champions League, United beat Juventus both home and away and were undefeated in the Premiership.

Rio’s old West Ham mentor, Harry Redknapp, revealed that the only Manchester United player he’d select for his own side would be his former young player Rio. The then Portsmouth manager made his comments on the eve of his side’s third round FA Cup defeat at Old Trafford in January 2003. ‘Man U have got many outstanding players but Rio is extra special. Yet he was never really an outstanding talent as a kid.’

The new year also saw United reach the Worthington Cup Final and they thrashed West Ham 6-0 in the FA Cup. However, United’s Champions League campaign came to an end in the quarter finals when they went out to Real Madrid on 8 April 2003.

Rio’s move to Manchester United seemed to pay dividends that very first full season when United clinched the Premiership with 83 points. Sadly, Rio’s old pals at West Ham ended a disastrous campaign with relegation. As Rio held aloft the Premiership trophy at the end of the season he must have been elated that his move had proved so successful.

Rio’s first season with Manchester United was full of ups and downs but it must have seemed a great move by him as his former clubs Leeds and West Ham struggled to survive in the Premiership.

But United’s European adventure – which saw them
knocked out of the Champion’s League to the supposedly invincible Real Madrid (themselves knocked out in the semis) did undoubtedly expose Rio to some of the fiercest criticism of his career.

Onetime Leeds and Man U favourite Johnny Giles wrote one highly critical article at the end of April, 2003, headlined ‘THE TWO Rs EXPOSE HUGE GAPS IN RIO’S KNOWLEDGE OF DEFENDING’. The article claimed that Rio’s boss, Alex Ferguson, could not avoid asking some awkward questions of Rio’s performances at the back. Few had forgotten how United’s survival in the earlier stages of the Champions League had been guaranteed only after French veteran Blanc managed a brilliant edge-of-the-penalty-area tackle after Rio had, yet again, let the opposition off the hook.

As Giles pointed out, ‘Rio at 24 is young enough, but the worry is that a big part of a defender’s performance will always be not so much technique as attitude of mind. Watching Ferdinand, you sometimes have to wonder if he has the potential to develop that defender’s instinct and mindset. Part of his problem is that all footballers have a tendency to become creatures of habit and, in the Premiership, this can be a major problem when someone like Ferdinand, who in an average league game looks quite masterful, has to step up his effort against players of the quality of Raul and Ronaldo.’

During United’s two quarter final games against Real Madrid it was certainly true that Rio sometimes looked as if he was lost in a minefield and, undoubtedly, Ferguson had noticed his shortcomings on the European stage. Now people inside football were asking for the first time if Rio could really make it in the big time. Could he acquire the kind of nerve and timing that distinguished the
outstanding defenders? Was Ferguson going to start growing impatient in the new season of 2003/2004? Only time would tell.

As Johnny Giles also pointed out, ‘Ferguson has worked on sharpening Ferdinand’s game. No doubt he has pointed out that looking good on the ball is fine but it will always remain of secondary importance to someone who should have the top priority of defending properly. For the moment the jury will need a lot more evidence before reaching a verdict on the most expensive defender in the history of football.

‘Ferdinand’s worry now must be that his boss, who has made clear his priority of winning another European Cup, has seen enough to add another name to his shopping list. A name like Terry, a player who long ago proved he didn’t need to be told that the main role of a defender is to defend. Ferdinand needs to grasp that truth as a matter of urgency. His United career will, sooner rather than later, depend on it.’

Rio’s activities off the pitch also continued to hit the headlines. In June 2003, he was ‘exposed’ by the
News of the World
when two hotel workers alleged he attacked and humiliated them during the England team’s ‘training break’ prior to a crucial Euro 2004 qualifying game against Slovakia. The incident took place at the luxurious Hyatt Regency hotel in southern Spain’s La Manga holiday complex. Chelsea’s John Terry was also alleged to have been present during the incident.

According to the newspaper, despite orders to abide by a bedtime curfew of 1am, Ferdinand and Terry called staff at 3.30am to fix a jammed pool table. The entire team had been under orders to get to bed by 1am at the latest. The pool table had been specially set up for the England squad
in the hotel’s ballroom. Rio was then alleged to have grabbed a hotel maintenance worker who in turn called his boss on his walkie-talkie. A fracas occurred. According to hotel staff, Rio tried to offer the maintenance man a tip. He refused and the two players then disappeared to their rooms. Minutes later England security chief Ray Whitworth was called out of bed to placate the hotel staff. He marched Rio back to the Grand Ballroom and made him apologise to the men he supposedly attacked.

Neither of the alleged ‘victims’ would talk about the incident afterwards but one other worker at the hotel later told reporters: ‘It was the talk of the hotel. The England team tried to hush it up and hotel managers ordered us not to talk about it to anyone, but by then it was too late.’

Significantly, England boss Sven-Goran Eriksson talked to both Rio and John Terry about the incident later that same day but Eriksson was quickly satisfied and decided to take no further action against the two players.

A day later, Rio faced reporters when he turned up in Monaco to watch the Grand Prix. He said: ‘It’s all been taken out of proportion.’ When asked if the story had ruined his trip to the south of France, he added: ‘Not really, I’m still having a great time. It’s amazing to see the cars close up and watch how the drivers like Michael Schumacher focus. I aim to come here every year now.’

Rio then used his lucrative column deal with the Sun to air his opinions about what happened at the hotel in Spain. In a piece headlined ‘I only wanted a game of pool’, Rio explained: ‘We were playing pool and challenged two of the hotel staff to a game. We said, “Let’s have a match, England v Spain.” But they did not seem to understand what we were talking about. When we asked them again, they called in these other blokes. It’s all been blown up out
of proportion. There were no hard feelings between us. I can hold my head up high, as I know the truth of it.’

As it turned out, Rio then had to have an exploratory operation on a knee injury, which meant he would now miss England’s European Championship qualifier against Slovakia on 11 June, which England won 2-1 thanks to two goals by Michael Owen. Rio admitted: ‘It can be quite depressing. We have the best surgeons, but you’re still on tenterhooks before an operation as to how it’ll turn out. It’s best to get away if you can.’ Rio added: ‘I’ve had a few injury problems and never felt able to get into a proper rhythm. I’m really disappointed I won’t be able to play at the moment but I will be rooting for the boys and I’m sure they will do the business.’

In the early autumn of 2003, problems on the personal front emerged yet again for Rio. The
Daily Mail
headline summed it up: ‘Party animal on the brink of ruin at 24.’ It may have sounded a tad overdramatic but the tabloids had Rio in their sights and Rio wasn’t helping things by refusing to curtail his own busy ‘social life’.

This time he became embroiled by association – despite not being involved – in the latest scandal to hit the Premiership which happened when a gang-rape allegedly occurred in the exclusive Grosvenor House Hotel, in London’s Park Lane. The room where the supposed attack took place had reportedly been booked in the name of England star Kieron Dyer, but the Newcastle player was not present at the time of the alleged incident.

When it was revealed that Dyer spent much of the day with Ferdinand following the alleged attack, Rio found himself once again tainted by association. But there was much worse to come. Rio was about to find himself at the centre of the biggest crisis of his headline-hitting career…

O
n 6 October 2003 it was publicly revealed that Rio had failed to take a routine drugs test at Manchester United’s training ground two weeks earlier. Rio was immediately dropped from England’s crucial match against Turkey and his international boss Sven-Goran Eriksson was said to be ‘disappointed’. England needed to win or draw the Turkey game in order to qualify for the following summer’s European Championships in Portugal and Rio had established himself as a valuable member of the team. He would be missed in defence.

Rio insisted to FA investigators that he was so preoccupied with moving house that he simply forgot to be make himself available for the test, although he did provide a clear sample 36 hours later. However, his failure to attend when required remained a technical breach of the sport’s strict anti-drugs code.

Newspapers immediately pointed out that the delay in taking the test would have allowed some drugs, including recreational substances, to have passed through Rio’s body and become undetectable.

However, Manchester United insisted they would stand by their record signing and the club immediately issued a statement: ‘The player has not been charged with any offence, but has been asked to attend a personal interview to explain the reasons behind his non-attendance.’ Rio undoubtedly faced an anxious wait until then.

Rio’s agent and father-figure Pini Zahavi reportedly said the FA would be ‘shooting themselves in the foot’ if they banned him from playing in the Turkey game.

Meanwhile the whole of British sport, not to mention the Government, was watching carefully to see how football’s governing body would handle the delicate situation.

The public and many newspapers were outraged at Rio’s alleged ‘forgetfulness’ and Fleet Street let fly in typical fashion. On 9 October 2003, the
Daily Mail
headline read: ‘Treachery – pampered playboys betrayed our trust.’ The paper’s respected sports journalist Jeff Powell wasn’t just referring to Rio but other England players who had stunned the FA by threatening to strike over Rio’s ‘suspension’ from the game against Turkey. Rio was already seen as guilty even though his ‘drugs test problem’ hadn’t yet been dealt with by the FA. Jeff Powell said: ‘Our man, Rio, they object, has been let down. So has our £30 million centre half, squealed his mighty club. So has our Mr Ferdinand, protests their shop-steward-in-chief (Gary Neville), the highest paid shop-steward-in-chief, the highest paid trade union leader in the land. And yes, Master Ferdinand has been let down. By himself.’

In reality, Gary Neville’s attempt to rally the England
players in protest against what they saw as kangaroo court justice against Rio was well intentioned, but the problem was that it actually highlighted the details behind the drugs test incident, which sparked even more questions about Rio’s motivations.

In the end, the England players’ protest ran out of steam but Rio, the man at the centre of all the controversy, continued to insist he was nothing more than an innocent man. Streetwise Rio knew the rules of the game and as far as he was concerned he had done nothing wrong.

But if Rio was hoping the scandal would calm down after a few days of tabloid outrage, he was to be bitterly disappointed. By the following weekend, the Sunday papers had also joined in and they’d uncovered some fascinating background information. The
Sunday Telegraph
revealed that at the previous World Cup in Korea and Japan, Rio had willingly provided a urine sample for a drugs test in a FIFA television broadcast aimed at educating the public about the importance of doping control.

His willingness to co-operate with the film made Rio’s failure to do the same at Manchester United’s training ground all the more bewildering. It also proved that he was far from naïve when it came to providing samples to drug testers. Unfortunately for Rio, this particular story did nothing to help convince the world of his innocence.

At the
Sunday Times,
journalists provided their readers with a day-by-day, blow-by-blow account of the ‘drugs test fiasco’ as it was now being referred to. It emerged that Rio was told he had one hour to report for the drugs test after a three-man testing team arrived at United’s Carrington training ground at 11.15 am on Tuesday, 23 September. Several players including Rio, Nicky Butt and Ryan Giggs were amongst those to be tested.

United doctor Mike Stone even sent a reminder down to Rio while he was still getting changed. United later insisted that by the time Stone realised Rio had forgotten to attend the drugs test, he had already left the ground. Meanwhile the testers continued waiting for Rio.

It was only after the testers left the training ground that United realised there really was ‘a problem’. The club then sent a number of text messages and voicemail messages to Rio’s mobile phone but were unable to contact him. A club official claimed that Rio kept his phone switched off much of the time because of hate messages from Leeds fans. By the time Rio finally got the messages it was early evening and he returned to Carrington to find the drug testers were long gone. At around 4pm that same afternoon, Rio was spotted out shopping at department store Harvey Nichols, in Manchester’s city centre. He, meanwhile, still insisted he was preoccupied with moving house.

There were many unanswered questions surrounding Rio’s drug testing problems but the fact remained that he was in yet another hot spot. It often seemed that wherever Rio went controversy was sure to follow.

Back on the field, Rio continued playing for Manchester United while awaiting a hearing on his case and, despite having plenty on his mind, produced some fine performances, much to the relief of his team boss Sir Alex Ferguson. Rio admitted in the Sun: ‘I know how important it is that I concentrate on my football despite everything that’s been going on. This is a different time to what I’ve been used to in my career but you just have to deal with it. If I had let things get to me and hadn’t been doing the business on the pitch I’m sure the manager would have dropped me. I wouldn’t have expected anything else. When you are at a club like United, there is no room for passengers.’

Rio could not directly discuss the drugs test case because of the FA hearing but being able to play in the meantime had proved the ideal therapy. ‘I haven’t sensed any extra pressure while I’ve been playing. In fact, it is where I have felt most comfortable. I have a job to do for my club. I’m getting on with it and focusing 100 per cent,’ added Rio.

But United’s mediocre form following Rio’s ‘exposure’ for failing to attend that drugs test did little to convince Old Trafford’s diehard fans that his behaviour had not had a knock-on effect upon the team.

Rio’s two-day disciplinary hearing over the missed drugs test was eventually held in late December 2003. A three-man FA commission of chairman Barry Bright and his colleagues Frank Pattison and Peter Herd aimed to find out why one of England’s most respected and talented footballers drove away from the Carrington training ground that day without being turned back to attend the drugs test.

Rio attended proceedings held at Bolton’s Reebok Stadium each day dressed in a dark, sombre suit and tie and accompanied by his counsel Robert Thwaites, QC. The commission heard evidence from the UK Sport testing team as they sought to piece together the chain of events which led to Rio contravening the drugs regulations.

On day two of the tribunal, United’s manager Alex Ferguson gave the impression that Rio would be found innocent and breezed in and out of the Reebok Stadium, saying nothing to waiting press but looking extremely pleased with himself. Later that day he made a point of telling journalists that Rio was definitely in the United team to play Tottenham at White Hart Lane the following day.

Through his lawyer, Rio continued to insist that
although he did forget to take the original test, he had in fact returned within two hours – but by then the testing team had departed. In a corridor near the hearings, Rio’s agent Pini Zahavi was chewing on one of his favourite cigars. He insisted Rio was very relaxed about the proceedings. ‘We have said from the start that Rio didn’t do anything wrong and that is still what we believe,’ explained Zahavi. ‘Rio is okay. Obviously he would rather be somewhere else other than here, but he is handling things well. He is just looking forward to getting this over with and returning to his football.’

But the FA were convinced Rio had contravened the rules and he was found guilty of misconduct. He was handed an eight-month suspension and fined £50,000 for missing the drugs test. The suspension was due to start on 12 January and effectively ruled Rio out of the second half of United’s Premiership campaign, as well as missing Euro 2004 in Portugal with England. Rio was also ordered to pay all the FA’s legal costs, estimated to be in the region of £100,000. Taking his own costs into account, Rio was facing a bill of at least £250,000.

The sentence produced a gasp from the assembled media at the Reebok Stadium, especially as many were predicting a ban of no more than three months. Rio was given 48 hours to ask for a written judgement and then another fourteen days to appeal. In fact, United lodged an immediate appeal following the FA’s decision, issuing only a brief statement – through an obviously angered club director and solicitor Maurice Watkins – when the verdict was announced.

Rio’s lengthy suspension left his boss Sir Alex Ferguson’s team potentially very weak in defence. The outspoken Scotsman was typically frank about his dilemma: ‘I would
say we are still a bit light in defensive areas. Only time will tell if we have enough flexibility to cope.’

However, Ferguson remained impressively loyal to Rio and even talked about taking legal action against the FA. He told reporters: ‘We’ll need to assess the situation. It may not end with the FA – we may have to go to court and he’s got a right to go to court to protect his reputation. The club would certainly support him.’

Later Ferguson added: ‘We were never going to say anything in immediate response to whatever the FA’s verdict was because that would be unwise. We would just take stock of the situation and see where we’re going from there.’

The United manager contended that Rio was ‘a condemned man’ from the moment the FA banned him from international duty when news of the missing drugs test was made public. ‘Right from the word go, he was bound to get charged because they left him out of the English team. That condemned him right away. He has had to carry that burden from that minute when they banned him from playing for England.’

But would taking legal action against the FA endanger Rio’s England career? Ferguson responded: ‘I don’t know about that. Whether he ever plays for his country again, or whether he ever wants to play for them, he has been condemned. No matter what people say, it will still be there, that he was refused permission to play for his country because of a drugs situation.’

Meanwhile, Rio wrote about his feelings on the situation in his column in the
Sun
: ‘I was shocked and devastated when I heard the verdict. It hit me like a thunderbolt.’ And Rio’s United and England team-mate Gary Neville said that Rio had been dealt with very harshly in light of a £2,000
fine handed to Manchester City’s Christian Negouai for missing a drugs test the previous season. Neville said: ‘You can’t start making one rule for one and another for another. It’s as simple as that. Perhaps the pressure from outside has gone against Rio.’

Others were not as sympathetic towards Rio. On hearing of the sentence, Dick Pound of the World Anti-Doping Agency said: ‘I don’t know what the disciplinary board heard that caused them to give a penalty that is only a third of the maximum. But it is clear they have rejected any suggestion that Ferdinand accidentally failed to take the test.’

Ironically, just before Rio’s suspension took effect on 20 January 2004, he played one of his finest games for United in their 2-1 win at Tottenham, which took them to the top of the Premiership. Team-mate Mikael Silvestre was full of praise for Rio after the game: ‘We knew Rio had a hard day and hard night after the hearing and he probably didn’t get much sleep either but he was fantastic at Tottenham. That shows his character to come through and carry on playing. It’s been a release for him. Playing is the best way to get away from his problems.’

Boss Alex Ferguson made a point of defending his decision to play Rio. ‘I was very pleased with him. It was probably the best thing for him, to get everything out of his mind and concentrate on playing football. He acquitted himself very well in the circumstances. His performances merit his place in the team. Since all this happened he has got better and better. He has great maturity and a great partnership with Silvestre so why should I leave him out?’

But Rio’s alleged plans to sue the FA were effectively blocked by outspoken FIFA president Sepp Blatter, who
insisted that under the laws of the game Rio could not take his case to a civil court. ‘According to the statutes of FIFA and its member associations, in this case, no recourse may be made to civil courts’ said Blatter, who denied earlier reports that he had threatened United with expulsion from the game should Rio take the civil action option. Blatter also ‘noted with satisfaction that this case has finally been dealt with and a decision passed.’

However, Rio was assured that he would still retain the support of his sponsors and the players’ union and there were many in the legal profession who believed the whole affair would not stand up to any real scrutiny. John Hewison, a senior partner with Manchester-based sports law firm George Davies, said: ‘If it had been a criminal case, it would have been thrown out because there was no way Rio was ever going to get a fair trial.’

In January 2004, Rio’s kid brother Anton had just broken into the West Ham senior side when he made a public appeal in the aftermath of Rio’s playing ban. ‘I’m there on the other end of a phone when Rio needs me. It will always be like that. Being the younger brother of a big star can be an advantage and the opposite.’