JOINING LEEDS WAS THE BEST THING I DID

Rio on how move stopped him partying too much in London

RIO FERDINAND has recalled his days at Leeds – and says he joined the club because he had to get away from London’s bright lights.

Ferdinand moved to Elland Road from West Ham for a British record transfer fee of £18million in 2000, claiming he left his home city because he was partying too much.

The former England star had just turned 22 and admits he was hitting the nightclubs every weekend with his mates when he should have been focusing on his career.

“I went to Leeds for a big fee, a British record,” said Ferdinand. “I could have gone to Chelsea. I got a phone call just as I was going to Leeds.

“I just said to the geezers, ‘There’s no point even trying to pitch the idea to me. I need to leave London. I’ve got all my mates, I’m living a distraction’.

“Going to Leeds was getting me away from my mates, who were good boys, but we were going out too much.

“I didn’t have a handbrake, everything was full throttle. The best decision was looking at myself and moving to Leeds when I did. Best thing I did.”

Ferdinand realised he had to move when then-england boss Kevin Keegan (above) left him out of his squad for Euro 2000 and his career was going off-course because of his partying. Ferdinand said: “The summer before that, I got dropped from the England team for Euro 2000.

“Kevin Keegan didn’t take me. I was devastated, but it was probably one of the best things to happen to me.

“I was p ***** off with him. But then I looked at myself after that initial anger and thought, ‘You know what, it’s down to me, isn’t it? I’m going out all the time’.

“That summer I went on holiday, I got back and I trained before we even went back to pre-season.

“I was running in the park for about 10 days before we went back in. I went back in, hit the ground running and then that November I went to Leeds.”

Ferdinand, 42, was speaking to Eddie Hearn on his BBC podcast No Passion, No Point and he used to bump into Anthony Joshua’s promoter at the Emporium nightclub in London with Frank Lampard .

Ferdinand, who joined Manchester United from Leeds for another British record £30m in 2002, admits he and Lampard were clubbing too much at West Ham.

“At first we’d say, ‘Right, get the game out the way, then we’re going to get in the car’,” he said.

“But in the end, we had to make a pact, ‘Let’s not talk about the nightclub until after the game’.”

IT WAS A BIG DEAL Rio signed for £18m and moved away from the London party scene