Rio Ferdinand--Five Star--The Biography (21 page)

It was even pointed out that now Rio was sidelined, he’d have a lot more time to watch his kid brother play for the Hammers. ‘It would be good if he comes to watch me sometimes but he does his own thing and I respect him for that,’ added Anton.

The big question on everyone’s lips in football was what on earth would Rio do with all his spare time now he’d been suspended from the game for eight months? Rio was preparing to appeal against the length of his playing ban as well as fronting an anti-drugs campaign in Manchester and
his native south London. Then the tabloids spotted him out in a brand new £110,000 silver Bentley Continental GT sports coupe he’d just added to his collection – which already included a £36,000 BMW, a £168,000 Aston Martin, a £52,000 Lincoln Navigator and numerous other vehicles. Rio’s latest toy had a 6-litre turbocharged 12-cylinder engine to help propel it from 0 to 60mph in just 4.7 seconds. There was even a built-in massager in the seats to help ease Rio’s stress-ridden life.

On 18 March 2004, Rio withdrew his appeal against his suspension. The reasons for his about-turn were never fully explained, but it looked as if Rio was now going to have to swallow his punishment and hope he could revive his career when he was allowed to play again the following September.

United’s European campaign came to a halt when they lost at home to Jose Mourinho’s FC Porto in the second round of the Champions League. Many of the English club’s fans believed that Rio’s absence had considerably weakened the side. In the Premiership, results were not going United’s way either and yet more fingers were being pointed at Rio’s absence.

As if Rio’s playing ban hadn’t sparked enough bad publicity, he then had to endure yet more exposure of his personal life in the tabloids. On 21 March 2004,
The People
revealed how Rio had filmed himself having sex with two women – and then showed the video to his mates.

Both girls told the newspaper they were impressed with Rio’s prowess between the sheets but felt humiliated by the way he showed the video of their orgy to pals.
The People
pointed out: ‘News of Ferdinand’s antics will also come as another blow to his long suffering live-in lover Rebecca Ellison.’

The incident happened after Rio met the two women while he was on holiday in his favourite holiday resort of Ayia Napa, where he’d earlier filmed another sex romp with some England pals. One girl told
The People
: ‘It was wild sex. He was good in bed and well endowed. He could go on for hours. We’d stop and he would be ready to go again in no time.’

A spokesman for Rio would only say to the newspaper: ‘We have no comment.’ The girl insisted: ‘He tries to pretend he is charming and the perfect gent. But it was demeaning the way he treated me. It left me feeling dirty and used.’

Manchester United’s dismal showing in the run up to the Premiership title race sparked a surprising article from suspended Rio in the
Sun
. He told the paper there were no excuses for the club’s disappointing dip in form which saw them have to qualify for the following season’s Champions League after they finished third, behind Arsenal and Chelsea.

Rio insisted his playing ban should not have affected the club’s form. He said: ‘This club has enough good footballers to be able to cover for the absence of one individual. Of course I wanted to be out there doing my bit and helping the team. It has hurt not to be part of it. But I’m not someone who thinks if I’d been playing we’d have won the Premiership and the Champions League.’

Rio also missed out on a FA Cup winner’s medal, thanks to his suspension, when his United teammates lifted the trophy after beating Millwall in the final at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium. The FA triumph was the eleventh time United had won the competition. A dazzling display by Ronaldo and a brace from Ruud van Nistelrooy helped them take the famous trophy back to Old Trafford. Rio insisted he was doing constructive things during his
suspension, including working for the charity Sport Relief. He visited a special football programme for children from a range of ethnic backgrounds in Ashton-under-Lyne, near Manchester, and enjoyed a kick around with some of those involved. Rio explained: ‘I’d like to think I’ve been using my spare time wisely. I’ve been training all the time with the rest of the lads but with not being involved in games I have also focused on other things.’

But an increasing number of Manchester United fans were wondering whether Rio’s ‘forgetfulness’ in failing to do that drugs test had cost their team any chance of the two titles that really mattered – the Premiership and the Champions League. Although it must be said that Chelsea, who finished second, had been bolstered by a £100 million outlay on top-class players funded by billionaire new owner Roman Abramovich. United’s attack seemed as strong as ever with free-scoring Ruud van Nistelrooy but the midfield had been weakened by David Beckham’s departure to Real Madrid and the defence had sorely missed Rio.

Sometimes it seemed as if Rio’s main preoccupation while suspended from the game was to write articles for the
Sun
, sister paper of the
News of the World,
which had exposed Rio’s antics off the pitch numerous times. When, in May 2004, Manchester United bought fiery Leeds striker Alan Smith, Rio pitched in with words of praise for Smith, whose loyalty to relegated Leeds had seen him more than a little reluctant to switch clubs. Rio explained: ‘People should understand Alan is doing what is right for him. He deserves a break. He has given everything for Leeds. He is not letting anyone down. He could not have done more to try and keep them in the Premiership.’

Rio’s response to the Smith transfer was heartfelt because
in many ways this was exactly how he felt about leaving the Yorkshire club two years earlier. Rio added: ‘Alan will love it at Old Trafford. I never regretted the move for a moment – and I am sure he won’t either.’

On the eve of the European Championships in Portugal in the summer of 2004 it was publicly revealed for the first time that Rio – still serving his eight-month ban – had made ‘up to twenty’ phone calls to FA chief Mark Palios before his hearing, saying he was prepared to face a long club ban if he could play for England in Portugal.

The rest of Europe was amazed at the treatment of Rio. Most other football associations usually only banned players in such circumstances for four or five months. It even emerged that the FA had been pushing for Rio to be banned for twelve months, instead of eight. Rio’s agent Pini Zahavi commented: ‘Rio should be playing in the European Championships and his ban would not happen in any other country than England.’

Just before the European Championships kicked off, Rio made a special journey to visit the England squad at their Manchester hotel to wish them luck. His old friend Frank Lampard explained: ‘Rio came to have dinner with us. Everyone knows how good a player Rio is and we will miss him. It must be hard for him at the moment. I know from talking to him that the closer we get to the matches the more frustrated he is feeling.’

In the middle of June 2004 – which should by all accounts have been a football-obsessed month – Rio’s colourful personal life once again hit the headlines thanks to his ‘old friends’ at the
News of the World.
This time a pretty brunette called Holly McGuire told the paper that she had been Rio’s secret lover for four years. That meant he had been juggling two long-term
mistresses in addition to live-in partner Rebecca Ellison, because an air hostess had earlier told the paper about her three-year affair with Rio.

A friend of Holly’s told the
News of the World
: ‘Rio’s family live in London so he’d tell Rebecca he was seeing them. He was very careful that no one found out about their affair – least of all Rebecca – but Holly was like a drug to him. He couldn’t resist her.’ The affair had only ended earlier that year. Holly’s friend added: ‘She doesn’t want to see or speak to him again. She’s wasted a lot of time on someone who is not free. She deserves her own man now.’

Yet again, one of Rio’s friends spoke up for him with a quote to the
News of the World
: ‘Rebecca is the love of his life, his rock. She’ll be devastated but Rio won’t want to lose her – she is the one.’

Two months later, another brunette came out of the woodwork and told
The People
newspaper that she’d enjoyed hours of lovemaking with Rio in a Tokyo hotel during the 2002 World Cup campaign. Aussie-born Coralie Robinson said that Rio’s lovemaking skills had ‘turned me into an animal in bed.’

Hours after waving goodbye to Coralie, Rio found his long-term partner Rebecca turning up unexpectedly in Tokyo. As one of Rio’s pals later explained: ‘She’d decided to surprise Rio because she knows what he’s like.’ Rio’s penchant for slipping out of trouble seemed to know no boundaries.

When Rio returned to pre-season training at Manchester United, he amazed team-mates by showing up sporting a big afro hairstyle after growing it throughout the summer. One local barber even offered to pay £10,000 to charity if Rio would allow him to give him a trim. Rio came up with his own solution, though, by tying his hair in braids
instead of going for a short back and sides and it is a style he has stuck with ever since.

Even when it came to hairstyles, Rio seemed capable of sparking newspaper headlines across the world…

R
io’s personal life had already been blasted across enough front pages when Channel 4 screened a documentary featuring video footage of Rio’s sex romp in Ayia Napa, ‘co-starring’ England stars Frank Lampard and Kieron Dyer a few years earlier. The programme – ‘Sex, Footballers and Videotape’ – pulled in an estimated 5 million viewers and sparked furious responses from all of the players. Lampard’s agent told one tabloid that the England midfielder was intending to sue Channel 4.

Channel 4 claimed the real-life footage illustrated a ‘culture of group sex’ that the producers claimed was rife amongst top footballers. The drama was based on documentary research and interviews with managers, agents, current and former Premiership players as well as women who’d slept with stars.

Meanwhile, at Manchester United, new signings Wayne
Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo were grabbing all the headlines while Rio remained suspended until September. And defensive recruit Argentinian Gabriel Heinze had quickly won over the Old Trafford faithful with a number of superb performances for the club.

On 20 September 2004, Rio made his first appearance since his suspension ended, in United’s clash with old rivals Liverpool. It was now 363 days since that fateful day when he’d missed the drugs test sparking his suspension. Rio was welcomed back like the prodigal son by the diehards of the Stretford End, who have always known when to throw a protective arm around their own, particularly those – Eric Cantona, David Beckham and Roy Keane – whom they perceive to be have been victimised because they play for United.

Rio’s United boss Alex Ferguson made a point of telling a packed press conference before the Liverpool clash: ‘I’ve never had more admiration for a lad than I have for Rio for the way he handled his suspension. He has been absolutely terrific.’

Many at the club shared Ferguson’s opinion on how Rio dealt with his suspension, training wholeheartedly all week and then sitting in frustrated silence as his team-mates struggled without him. On the other hand, observers from outside the hierarchy believed that Rio’s training, charity duties and habit of popping up at regular intervals to remind everyone of his sense of injustice in the
Sun
showed a cynical disregard for the rules of the game.

Rio’s importance to the team had assumed almost legendary proportions during his absence, although some hardcore fans remained sceptical about Rio when he talked openly about a ‘debt of honour’ to Ferguson and the club for backing him so wholeheartedly.

Team-mate Gary Neville – who’d led the England players’ protests before Euro 2004 – had even more praise for Rio: ‘He certainly surprised me because I never believed anybody could show that degree of professionalism during those eight months. The way he came to training every day, the way he kept his focus. I half expected him to disappear on holiday until the following pre-season.’

Neville even pushed for Rio to get a rapid-fire return to the England team for their World Cup qualifying campaign match against Wales in early October. ‘I know what Rio brings to Manchester United and England. In 2002 he and Sol Campbell were the best central defensive pairing in the World Cup, and Rio has a case for being considered one of the best in the world.’

Rio himself seemed to know that he owed both Ferguson and England boss Eriksson ‘big time’ – or at least that’s what he told journalists. Within weeks of his return to Manchester United’s team, Eriksson hailed Rio as the best centre-half he had ever seen. So, when Rio found himself back in the England team to face Wales, few were surprised. Rio explained: ‘For your managers to be showing that sort of confidence in putting you straight back into two great teams breeds confidence in yourself.’

‘Hopefully I will be able to keep repaying those two managers who have done that for me. In terms of having someone who shows loyalty towards me, Mr Eriksson has been great. He put his name to a statement supporting me and spoke to me a few times on the phone and having those sort of touches was a great help to me during the ban.’

Eriksson was positively glowing in his praise of Rio: ‘He has been incredible since his return to the game – in many ways his performances have been impeccable. It has surprised me that Ferdinand is at this level already after
having been out of football for so long. He must have worked very hard.’

But all that praise on the back pages didn’t last long, for soon he was back on the front pages. At the end of October 2004, Rio was ‘exposed’ for being out clubbing hours after being given leave to miss a United game for his grandmother’s funeral. Some were wondering if – not when – Rio would ever learn to keep his head down. Rio had missed United’s Champions League away match against Sparta Prague. It’s not known how Ferguson reacted to Rio’s antics. But one observer seemed to sum up the player’s character when he explained: ‘Rio is Rio. He seems to be a law unto himself. I doubt if even this will persuade him to watch his back. He seems to believe he is above any real punishment. It’s almost as if he’s saying “catch me if you can” and laughing at everyone in the process. Only time will tell if his career can keep surviving the onslaught of stories about his off-the-field behaviour.’

Once again it was left to the
Daily Mail
to sum up Rio’s current predicament: ‘Whether he knows it or not, Ferdinand still has some repair work to do to his reputation at United. He may be a fine player but many supporters remain unconvinced of his commitment and, if he has any sense of responsibility at all, he should have felt more than a little embarrassed when he rejoined his team-mates for training at their Carrington headquarters two days after his latest nightclub appearance.’

Already eleven points behind Arsenal in the race for the title, United needed to keep winning to prevent their bitter rivals from North London reaching a milestone of fifty Premiership games unbeaten and claw back lost ground at the top of the table. It was rumoured that some of United’s most senior players were unhappy with Rio’s
behaviour, but for the moment his place in the team remained unquestionable.

On the European front, United only got as far as the second round where they were knocked out by AC Milan after suffering 1-0 defeats at home and away. The Manchester United winning machine seemed to be faltering somewhat.

In April 2005, Rio’s loyalty was put to probably its most severe test when he was spotted in two London restaurants with Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon. In one photograph, former United executive Kenyon appeared to be dining with Rio and his agent Pini Zahavi. Alex Ferguson was reported in one newspaper to be ‘incandescent’ with rage after seeing the pictures. Ferguson had already accused Kenyon of treating his former club United with contempt.

Many were asking how a man as experienced and shrewd as Zahavi could invite his most valuable client (Rio) to a London restaurant in which Kenyon was eating on a Saturday night without realising the publicity it would create. For the moment, that question would have to remain unanswered or simply a matter of coincidence. As usual Rio brushed off the rumours that he might be off to Chelsea. It seemed that nothing ever stuck on Rio. He had an amazing ability to sail close to the wind.

United ended the 2004/2005 season a disappointing third in the Premiership behind Arsenal and newly crowned champions Chelsea. Many were starting to wonder if the club’s incredible run of success was grinding to a halt.

In May 2005, Rio was reported to have been head-butted by a gangster in Stockholm, Sweden, at the city’s Café Opera club after security guards were said to have
intervened to stop punches being thrown when the pair bumped into each other. A few hours later Rio was alleged to have ‘caused chaos’ in a hotel back in the UK during the pre-wedding celebrations for his old Leeds colleague Jody Morris. One guest at the hotel, near Watford, told a
Sun
journalist that Rio was amongst a group of guests ‘knocking on doors, then squirting people with the fire extinguisher. I complained to the hotel. I was there with my young family. It was a horrible experience.’

Then it emerged that Ferdinand and Zahavi were involved in some protracted talks with United over Rio’s contract. He was demanding £120,000 a week. Significantly, Ferguson fed the press a ringing endorsement of Rio, saying: ‘I do not blame him. He wants to stay with us.’ Ferguson also refused to criticise Zahavi, who later said: ‘Of course he didn’t say anything. Alex and I are friends and he trusts me.’

But the controversy surrounding Rio’s ‘encounters’ with Kenyon had already highlighted the close relationship which now existed between Zahavi and United rivals Chelsea. The Israeli super agent’s world had turned around since he first delivered Roman Abramovich to Chelsea in the summer of 2003. Having subsequently played a part in bringing in Kenyon and coach Jose Mourinho to Stamford Bridge, Zahavi was now more than just an advisor to the West London club, who’d just won their first championship in fifty years.

However, the ever-canny Zahavi continued to insist: ‘Rio loves it at Manchester United and wants to stay there, but it depends on United, not on him, whether that happens. Everybody has to give a little. It’s called negotiation. Rio deserves to earn, if not more than the other top central defenders in the world, then at least the same.’ Zahavi
added: ‘Rio cannot see himself playing for another club and I can assure everyone that Chelsea is not on the agenda.’

But by late June 2005 Rio and agent Zahavi had still failed to agree a new contract with United. The club’s fans were astounded that he would dare hold out for £130,000 a week considering the loyalty shown to Rio during his drug test ‘problems’.

On 4 July, Rio was even booed by supporters during a 5-1 friendly win at Clyde. Many called him ‘greedy’, but United assistant manager Carlos Queiroz brushed off the abuse, saying: ‘It’s not a concern. Just a reaction from a few fans and it won’t bother him.’

However, a few days later the
Mail on Sunday
reported that Alex Ferguson was furious with Rio for refusing to sign an improved contract offer of £110,000 a week and was intending to demand that the England defender make a public pledge of loyalty to the club. Rio was now holding out for £120,000 a week but United were refusing to go that high. Ferguson told the paper: ‘He says he wants to stay so he should say that now. That would take away any lingering suspicions and doubts.’

Rio’s old Leeds pal and new United team-mate Alan Smith insisted: ‘Rio’s fine. Rio’s a player who will make his own mind up when he wants to sign a new contract. That’s got nowt to do with me or the rest of the players. That’s up to Rio. He’s said he wants to stay with us. I’m sure he’ll do that.’

In the middle of all the Manchester United controversy was the Glazer family of American multi-millionaires, who’d just completed a highly contentious takeover at Old Trafford. During United’s Asia tour – which was marred by low attendances and questions about the absence of skipper Roy Keane – there were face-to-face clashes between supporters
and members of the Glazer family. Fans stormed a VIP area in Beijing to vent their anger at Bryan Glazer, who was travelling with the official club party. Two men broke through a security cordon but had a reasonably civil conversation with Glazer, whose family were part of a takeover that had left United with debts of almost £100 million.

Then, agent Pini Zahavi threw the whole wages negotiations saga into confusion by telling the
Independent
: ‘No-one is having talks. There is no need to speak. He has two years. There was at some stage an idea for a new contract but we could not reach an agreement.’ However Zahavi then added: ‘But he is loyal to Manchester United and I am sure at the end of the day he will stay.’

United chief executive David Gill tried to calm the situation down by telling the media: ‘We want him to stay, he wants to stay and in my experience when that situation prevails, invariably the player stays.’

At the beginning of August 2005, Manchester United suddenly announced they had won the wages stand-off with Rio when he agreed to sign a new four-year deal worth around £5million a year, which effectively ended months of uncertainty over his future. It is believed that Rio settled for a weekly wage just in excess of £100,000. Rio privately told friends and associate he hoped that the settlement would mark the end of his summer of abuse from fans.

Rio and his England team-mates received one hell of a setback when they were thrashed 4-1 in a friendly by Denmark during the summer of 2005 and then beaten 1-0 by Northern Ireland in a World Cup qualifying game in September. The tabloids turned up the pressure on coach Sven-Goran Eriksson to drop Rio because England’s place in the 2006 World Cup Finals in Germany appeared to be under threat and his performances in both games were poor.

Rio was pragmatic about his own form, which had noticeably dipped. He accepted that his own displays were not up to scratch and explained: ‘If any player has a bad game it’s there in the back of your mind in the next game. There’s always a hangover. When you put in a good performance it puts it to rest a bit, although it doesn’t completely disappear. After a bad defeat the sense of urgency always rises. It is like a wounded animal in a way, as you want to get out there as quick as possible and rectify it.’

After the Denmark defeat, coach Eriksson even insisted the England squad sat through a painful re-run of the game with their mistakes highlighted to learn from. ‘We all agreed it was unacceptable,’ explained Rio. ‘I set my standards very high and that was nowhere near the standard. It was a case of it finally hitting home and showing us first-hand exactly what he wasn’t happy with. We were disappointed and embarrassed as players.’

But it was the 1-0 defeat by Northern Ireland that turned up the pressure even more on Eriksson to drop Rio for the next World Cup qualifying game against Austria at Old Trafford at the beginning of October. ‘Humiliation’ was the most popular word used on the sports pages and it summed up the public’s reaction to the shock defeat. Henry Winter in the
Daily Telegraph
wrote: ‘England slumped to their most embarrassing defeat since the 1981 reverse to Norway. Bereft of thought and fight, strangled by a system they clearly did not enjoy, England’s players lost their first qualifier under Sven-Goran Eriksson, who faces an autumn of deepening discontent. “Sack the Swede” chanted England’s fans.’