Rio Ferdinand, who spent 12 years with Manchester United and a season at Queens Park Rangers has announced his retirement from professional football.
The 36-year-old former England defender was capped 81 times by the Three Lions and made 455 appearances for United scoring eight goals where he won six Premier League titles, one European Cup, a FIFA Club World Cup and two League Cups.
Ferdinand left Old Trafford in May 2014 to join QPR.
“After 18 years as a professional footballer I now feel it’s the right time for me to retire from the game that I love,” Ferdinand said.
“As a 12-year-old boy, kicking around a football on the Friary Estate in Peckham, I never dreamt that I would play for my boyhood club West Ham, captain Leeds, win the Champions League with Manchester United, or re-join my first manager Harry Redknapp at QPR.
“I will always regard the 81 times that I played for England with immense pride. These are all treasured memories that will last a lifetime.
“Starting a career, every young man needs mentors. I found mine in Dave Goodwin, the District Manager at Blackheath, and Tony Carr, the Youth Team Manager at West Ham. They instilled in me personality traits that lasted throughout my career. I will always be grateful to them.
“I’d like to thank Chris Ramsey, Harry Redknapp, David O’Leary and David Moyes who managed me at various times in my career, all the backroom staff who looked after me over the years, and the players I played with. I would also like to thank the team who managed me off the pitch, Jamie Moralee and everybody at New Era.
“Winning trophies over my 12 years at Manchester United allowed me to achieve everything I desired in football. From a young child to today, that was all I cared about. None of that would have been possible, without the genius of one man, Sir Alex Ferguson.”
Source: allsoccerplanet.com
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