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Rio Ferdinand announces his retirement

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Defender calls time on playing career

Rio Ferdinand has announced he is retiring from football after a long, successful career with Manchester United.

The England international ended his career at Loftus Road with Queens Park Rangers, but after they were relegated to the Championship, the veteran was released from the club after they chose not to extend his contract.

Ferdinand announced the news earlier today that he won’t be continuing his playing days, and was quick to release a statement following his decision.

The 36-year-old admitted it was the right time to retire from the game he loved.

Ferdinand has suffered tragic news off the field in recent weeks after the passing off his wife and soul-mate, and he felt now was the right time to stop playing football.

Formal Statement

Ferdinand said: “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.

“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 United, win the Champions League with Manchester United, or re-join my first manager Harry Redknapp at Queens Park Rangers.

“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.

“His greatest accomplishment in my eyes will always be how he developed us as men, not just as footballers. He will, in my opinion, always be the greatest manager in British football history.

“I’d also like to thank and pay tribute to my late wife Rebecca and my family, including my mother and father, for their sacrifices, their encouragement and their advice throughout my career.

“And finally, I’d like to thank all the fans from all the clubs [I played for], for without them professional football would not exist. I will miss each and every one of you on my Saturday afternoons.”

Ferdinand won 13 trophies during his time at Manchester United and former team-mate Paul Scholes was quick to pay tribute to the retiring defender.

Scholes Pays Tribute

Scholes said: “He was a great player, without a doubt the best centre-half I ever played with. I would say for a time as well he was the best centre-half in the world.

“He was such a pleasure to play with and play in front of. To play in front of him, he made your job so easy.”

Written by Alex Batt – @AlexBatt – @AlexsArticles

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