EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: In our final instalment, Part 3, Rio Ferdinand talks to United Latest about his past, present and future career as defender with Manchester United and captain of England. He tells us about his World Cup injury heartbreak, and his joys with The Red Devils…

Ferdinand suffered ligament damage to his knee in England’s first training session in South Africa, ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Rio was ruled-out for six weeks, and therefore missed all of England’s games in South Africa. He would have captained the side.

“I was totally gutted.” he told United Latest. “You look forward to it for so long and then not to be able to play, it was just awful.”

Wayne Rooney was among many high ranking players that underperformed over the summer. Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo also failed to grab headlines. “It’s not about individuals. It’s about playing as a squad and for whatever reasons it just didn’t happen for England.” Rio said on the matter.

Back to Ferdinand’s Manchester United career… After being capped nearly 350 times for The Reds, Rio had wore the skipper’s armband for quite a while before sustained the said injury with England. The United captaincy was then handed to Nemanja Vidic, and the Serbian has lead the side since the early stages of the season.

Asked whether he would try to regain the captaincy, Rio remarked: “No, I completely stand by the managers decision.” He also stated he would consider giving management a try after his footballing career. “I would like to go into management. The one thing I will always do is community / charity work. A small amount of my time can make such a difference to other peoples’’lives.”

Some have suggested that the continued opposition to the club’s owners, The Glazer Family, has taken focus off the players. “We know the fans have concerns,” Ferdy told us. “As players we report to the manager, and we just get on and do our job on the training field and on the pitch.”

And finally, we asked Rio whether he would wear the Red shirt for the rest of his playing career… “Definitely… If the manager will have me !”

• Rio Ferdinand Talks To Us About Wayne Rooney
  
• Rio Ferdinand Talks To Us About Sir Alex Ferguson

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