Utd Kids Wife

DEFENDER

Signed in July 2002 for what was then a world-record £30m pricetag for a defender.

Has had a stabilising effect on United defence aswell as Englands.

On 22 July 2002, Ferdinand joined Man Utd on a five-year deal to become the most expensive British footballer in history, the world’s most expensive defender again (a title he had lost in 2001 to Lilian Thuram). The fee included a basic element in the high twenty millions, and some conditional elements, which allowed Leeds to tell their fans that they were selling him for over thirty million. Ferdinand suffered from a lack of form at the start of his Manchester United career, particularly illustrated by his performance against Real Madrid in the Champions League and in a 1–0 defeat by his former club Leeds at Elland Road.

In 2003, he failed to attend a drug test, claiming he had forgotten because he was preoccupied with moving houses and instead went shopping. The FA  imposed an eight month ban from January 2004 at club and international level and a £50,000 fine, meaning he would miss the rest of the league season and some of the next along with all of Euro 2004]

Ferdinand went on to win the Premier League title with Manchester United in his first season. He has also collected a winner’s medal in the 2006 League Cup, with runners-up medals in the 2003 League Cup and the 2005 FA Cup.

On 14 December 2005, in a game against Wigan, Ferdinand scored his first goal for United, en route to a 4–0 victory. This was his first goal after more than three years at Old Trafford. He followed this up with a powerfully headed goal against West Bromwich Albion. He then scored a last minute winner against Liverpool at Old Trafford, possibly his most important Manchester United goal to date. In the corresponding fixture in the following season on 22 October 2006, Rio scored again in a 2–0 victory.

Ferdinand started the 2007–08 season well, he was part of a United defence that managed to keep six clean sheets in a row in the Premier League, before conceding an early goal to Aston Villa at Villa Park on 20 October 2007. It was also during this game where Ferdinand scored his first goal of the season, which was United’s third goal of that game, with a left foot strike which took a very strong deflection off one of Villa’s defenders. Just three days later, Ferdinand scored his first European goal for United by opening the scoring against Dynamo Kyiv, with a superb header. United dominated the game and won 4–2.

On 12 January 2008 Ferdinand bagged a rare Premier League goal in a 6–0 hammering of Newcastle at Old Trafford.

In their FA Cup quarter-final match against Portsmouth on 8 March 2008 when Manchester United dominated, Ferdinand made a rare appearance as a goalkeeper, after Edwin van der Sar left the pitch with a groin injury and the replacement keeper, Tomasz Kuszczak, was sent off after conceding a penalty. Despite diving the right way, he was unable to save Sulley Muntari’s spot kick, and Manchester United were eliminated from the FA Cup.

It was announced on 16 April 2008 that Ferdinand had agreed to sign a new five-year contract, worth around £130,000 a week, which would keep him with United until 2013. The contract was finally signed on 15 May 2008.

On 21 May 2008, Ferdinand captained Manchester United to a Champions League Final victory versus Chelsea. He accepted the trophy together with Ryan Giggs, as Giggs was the on field captain for most of the matches during that season during Gary Neville’s absence due to injury.