Rio Ferdinand was all set to join Leeds United from West Ham in 2000 before a heart condition discovered in his medical led him to believe his dreams of becoming a professional footballer were over
Rio Ferdinand once thought he was going to die after being diagnosed with a heart condition ahead of his transfer to Leeds United. The former England star was on the verge of a record-breaking £18million move, which made him the world’s most expensive defender.
Having graduated from West Ham’s academy, Ferdinand quickly gained acclaim for his performances with the Hammers and made his England debut while still in his teens. In 2000, Leeds were ready to splash out on the young defender as David O’Leary looked to add the final pieces to a team that would later reach the Champions League semi-finals.
Ferdinand is best known for his 12-year stint at Manchester United, where he lifted Premier League titles and the Champions League in 2008. However, the centre-back feared his career could be over at the mere age of 22 after a heart issue was detected during his Leeds medical.
“They did checks at the hospital,” Ferdinand revealed in his 2006 autobiography, Rio: My Story. “I was waiting for them to tell me everything was okay when one of them looked at me all serious and said, ‘You have got an irregular heart.’
“Had I heard that right? An irregular heart? Bloody hell, was I going to die? At the very least I thought I’d have to give up football. My dreams were shattered, and my mum nearly passed out.
“One side of my heart was an abnormal size and my blood was being pumped around in a different direction to most people’s.
“Four hours later they said it would not be a problem. That was a very, very long four hours. They said it shouldn’t affect me in life and so far it hasn’t. But I still think about it.”
Ferdinand’s concerns were swiftly quelled, and his irregular heartbeat would have no impact on his footballing career, which ended with his retirement in 2015. The discovery of the medical issue did not deter United from spending £29m on Ferdinand, two years after his transfer to Elland Road. With that, he reclaimed his record as the world’s most expensive defender, which was briefly held by Lilian Thuram.
A decade on from his retirement, Ferdinand has carved out a successful career in punditry and currently stands as one of the most high-profile analysts and co-commentators on TNT Sports’ football broadcasts.
On Wednesday, the 46-year-old took to social media to share an image from a hospital bed, stating he won’t be available for punditry duty for Wednesday’s Champions League semi-final between Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal. He will also miss the Europa League semi-final between United and Athletic Bilbao. However, there is no suggestion that this is related to his heart condition.
Ferdinand captioned his post on social media: “Gutted to be missing the Semi-Finals this week on @footballontnt!! Wishing the team all the best – I’ll be watching every minute from the iPad!”
Arsenal trail PSG 1-0 going into the second leg at the Parc des Princes. Speaking on his podcast, Ferdinand weighed in on the upcoming match by saying: “If there is a team who can go to PSG and win, it’s Arsenal. I don’t think it’s about ability at this stage, I think it’s about mentality and belief.
“In Bukayo Saka they’ve got a matchwinner who can turn the game on its head. There’s positives there but if the mindset isn’t right, they will get smoked, I’m telling you. The problem for Arsenal is PSG are a proper team, I don’t think they’re invincible but they’ve been the best team in the Champions League.”
2025-05-07 18:57:13
