| Squad Number: | 5 |
| Position: | Defence |
| Place of Birth: | Peckham, England |
| Date Of Birth: | 07/ 11/ 1978 |
| Height: | 6'2 |
| Weight: | 12st 0lbs |
| This Season | |
| Appearances: | 8(0) |
| Goals: | 0 |
| Yellow Cards: | 0 |
| Red Cards: | 0 |
| Minutes on Pitch: | 687 |
England international and the world's most expensive defender, Rio Ferdinand has been an integral part of the Manchester United defence since joining the club for £30 million in July 2002.
Ferdinand began his career at West Ham United and progressed through the club's youth system to make his debut on 5 May 1996 as a substitute in a 1-1 draw against Sheffield Wednesday at Upton Park. The following season saw a successful loan spell at Bournemouth before returning to establish himself as a regular in the Hammers defence.
He went on to make 127 appearances for the club before joining Leeds United in December 2000 for a fee of £18 million. At the time, it was both the record British transfer fee and the world record transfer fee for a defender.
His first season at the Yorkshire club saw him play in the Champions League semi-finals, losing 3-0 on aggregate to Spanish side Valencia. In August 2001, he was made club captain by manager David O'Leary.
He only held the role for one season though and after an impressive World Cup for England in Japan, he joined Manchester United, again setting new records for British transfer fees and World transfer fee for a defender.
His first season at Old Trafford proved to be a successful one as United regained the Premiership title and also made the League Cup final, losing 2-0 to Liverpool at the Millennium Stadium
But his second season at the club would prove to be one of the lowest moments in his career so far. On 23 September 2003, Rio was ordered to take an FA drugs test at United's Carrington training ground but left after training without taking the test.
He later claimed that he was distracted due to a house move and instead went shopping. He soon realised his mistake and contacted the club. But despite taking the test two days later and providing a negative sample, he was given an FA miscounduct charge for missing the original test.
In an independent tribunal, he was found guilty of the charge and was given an eight-month ban, beginning on 20 January 2004. An appeal against the punishment failed and as a result Rio missed United's run-in, which saw them finish third behind Arsenal and Chelsea, and the European Championships tournament for England in Portugal.
Rio eventually returned to both the Manchester United and England sides in September 2004, with United once again finishing third behind Chelsea and Arsenal. However, he angered many United fans in April 2005 when during contract negotiations, he allegedly made demands of £120,000 per week, despite United having paid him in full during his lengthy FA ban. Photographs also appeared in national newspapers showing Rio and his agent Pini Zahavi holding talks with Chelsea officials and as a result he became a target of boos from some fans.
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