Rio Ferdinand has revealed a “new chapter” in Dubai, as he looks to set up a new life for his family after he left TNT Sports following 10 years of service with the broadcaster.
Ferdinand has five children, including two with his wife Kate. His eldest, Lorenz, 19, was recently signed onto Brighton’s youth academy as a goalkeeper.
Rio Ferdinand has revealed he is moving to Dubai after quitting his role at TNT Sports after 10 years
|PA
Ferdinand has business ventures within the Middle East, but explained there were a few reasons for the move.
Speaking to The National, he discussed the why he is leaving England: “There’s not one reason. I went for the Global Soccer Awards at Christmas, and I hadn’t been there properly for about seven or eight years.
“I used to go there all the time before. We spent time with a couple of Kate’s friends who lived there, and I just saw a different side to it. I also have a business out there, Football Escapes.”
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The Manchester United icon has several business ventures he is looking to focus on
|Since his debut for West Ham at the age of 17, Ferdinand has been involved in football, whether that be playing or punditry. A career that has spanned 29 years within the game.
The 46-year-old explained that this took its toll, even throughout his punditry duties: “I wanted a new chapter and I’ve been doing TNT [Sports] since I retired, for the last 10-11 years. When I made the decision [to join TNT], I thought ‘this must be 30 years when my life is driven by the fixture list’. Not now.
“I’m not leaving football, but it’s just not the governing body of my life now. I’ve got to be honest, it feels nice.
“There’s a lot of research [for TV], talking to the producers, the director, the pundits. Doing the clips in the days before the game. You travel to the game the day before and leave the day after. That’s three days where you can’t do anything in your diary.
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“For every Champions League week, I was doing two games. I love it. I still love it now. It’s just I wanted to do something new and different, and I’m quite instinctive. I’ve got a lot of interests outside of football, like investments, tech investing especially.”
The former Champions League winner’s business ventures were an important factor in his decision-making.
He explained he has shareholdings in “a lot of companies” and that he is looking to “bring it all together”, while still doing “loads of football”.
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Ferdinand is moving to Dubai with wife Kate and their children
|But there is one venture that he is looking to focus on in particular: his own media company. Ferdinand has a YouTube channel, Ferdinand Presents, that he has managed for 16 years.
The former QPR defender said: “The way I present stuff with my media company, I’m going to supercharge that because I’ve got more time.”
With Ferdinand and wife Kate sharing two younger children – Cree, four, and Shae, two, – and Ferdinand having Tate, 17, and Tia, 14, from his previous marriage with Rebecca Ellison, who tragically died after a short battle with breast cancer in 2015, the England international explained that education was a key element to his decision.
“The children who are coming are 14, which is perfect because it’s their two years of GCSEs starting this August,” he continued. “Then we’ve got a four and a two-year-old, so it’s perfect timing for them as well.
“And the curriculum is an English curriculum, but it’s just done a different way. I feel the teachers in the UK feel a little bit undervalued, underpaid.
“In Dubai, it feels like they’re valued and the lifestyle means that they’re happy and vibrant with a good energy for the kids. Lifestyle, safety, weather and just a new life.”