Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand stole souvenir from Vladimir Putin

Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand once stole a souvenir from Vladimir Putin, swiping a spoon from the Russian President.

Footballers love a memento of a big match, that's why they often swap shirts with their opponent at the end of a game, especially if they've given them a hard time.

Sometimes players can even wait a couple of months to get a shirt from an opponent, although admittedly that doesn't happen too often.

But it did just a few days ago, when Olivier Giroud and Jason Cummings finally swapped tops, weeks after the pair had met at the World Cup.

It's unlikely that either Cummings or Giroud will make as much money from their shirt swap as former England star Steve Hodge made from grabbing Diego Maradona's shirt.

El Diego's top from the famous 'Hand of God' goal in 1986 earned Hodge a ludicrous £7.1 million last year, good job he hadn't lost it in all that time.

But anyone can get a shirt swap, probably only former United star Ferdinand has managed to swipe something from Putin, and lived to tell the tale, or at least have it told by Alex Scott.

The BBC pundit explained in her book, How (Not) To Be Strong, that her fellow 'Beeb' colleague had taken the item during the World Cup in 2018.

"As part of the FIFA Legends programme, Rio Ferdinand and I had been invited to the Kremlin to discuss the World Cup," she wrote.

"Rio made me laugh on the way out – he opened his hand to reveal he’d nicked a teaspoon as a memento."

Alex Scott/Twitter

The former Arsenal right back explained that she didn't really feel comfortable at the meeting, adding, "I was the only woman in the room – which, behind the scenes, I think had caused some anger because of the politics involved in sitting with certain world leaders.

"But I was there to discuss football. I even learned a sentence in Russian, which I attempted and failed, but God loves a trier!

"The whole morning was utterly surreal. We snapped pictures with Putin, but I was scared to even eat the tea and cake in front of me in case I unwittingly broke some unspoken diplomatic convention."

Scott with the FA Cup. Image: Alamy

Despite the discomfort she felt in the Kremlin, it certainly wasn't the worst experience during her trip to Russia for the World Cup, five years ago.

The former England Women's star also revealed that she was nearly kidnapped and was threatened with murder, by a taxi driver.

Fortunately she lived to tell the tale and continues to provide excellent insight on BBC Sport, and also presents the One Show from time to time.

It's fair to say Rio Ferdinand has better memories of Russia though.