Rio Gavin Ferdinand is an English former professional footballer who played as a centre-back, and is now a television pundit for BT Sport. He played 81 times for the England national team between 1997 and 2011, and was a member of three FIFA World Cup squads.

Ferdinand grew up in Peckham in a large family, his mother was one of six children and his father arrived in Britain with ten other family members. Both parents worked to support the family, his mother as a child carer and his father as a tailor. His parents never married and they separated when he was 14 years old.