Rio Ferdinand Has One Condition for Interviewing John Terry
Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand has revealed the one reason why he won't yet interview John Terry.
Since he announced his retirement from professional football while playing for Queen's Park Rangers back in May 2015, former United and England defender Rio Ferdinand has remained a big name in football.
Alongside his work for as a pundit for several broadcasters, the 46-year-old also hosts his own podcast on his YouTube channel Rio Ferdinand Presents.
On the podcast, Ferdinand regularly welcomes and interviews several of his former teammates and other notable names in the sport, including the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Jose Mourinho and David Beckham.
Advert
However, one player who is yet to be interviewed by the United legend is his former England teammate Terry, and Ferdinand has explained the one reason why is is yet to happen.
Although Ferdinand and Terry were rivals in club football, they were teammates while on International duty with England, playing together in 35 matches.
Despite this, the Chelsea legend remains strictly off-limits for Ferdinand after the pair fell out after Terry was involved in a high-profile racism row with the United defender's brother Anton.
In 2011, Rio's brother Anton Ferdinand claimed that Terry used racist language towards him during a Premier League meeting between QPR and Chelsea at Loftus Road.
After seeing video footage from the game, Anton accused Terry of calling him a "f****** black c***" and, following a trial, Terry was charged of racial abuse in a criminal law case but was cleared in court.
Terry insists that he instead had said to Ferdinand: 'Oi, Anton, do you think I called you a black ****?'
And it is because of this high-profile case that Rio Ferdinand admitted that he isn't sure if he would be comfortable interviewing Terry until he were able to finally settle things with his brother.
When asked if he would interview Terry by The Times, he said: "I don't know.
"I think he probably needs to speak to my brother before he speaks to me. And he’s not spoken to my brother."
Following the incident with Anton, the Football Association charged Terry with using 'abusive and/or insulting words or behaviour' which 'included a reference to the ethnic origin and or race of Ferdinand'.
As a consequence of this, the Chelsea defender was stripped of his England captaincy for the second time.
Anton has since claimed that he has invited Terry to sit down with him and discuss the incident live on TV, but is yet to ever receive a response.
Topics: Rio Ferdinand, John Terry, Football, Premier League
Ben McCrum