Rio Ferdinand on his career as a pundit: ‘’I always remember what it was like when people talked about me’’

Punditry is changing according to the 45-year-old Ferdinand. The former defender has felt a change during Euro 2024 and noticed that some of the pundits are getting as many headlines as the players playing in the tournament. ‘’It shows you the changed landscape of the industry, and the importance of certain voices that are around the game at the moment.’’ 

‘’I think punditry was a bit stiff before,’’ said Ferdinand to GQ. ‘’Social media has played a huge part in softening that for everybody because it’s a direct connection to the fans.’’ 

The Englishman believes that social media makes footballers more relatable. ‘’When I was a kid, I wanted to know what John Barnes and Gazza were eating on their days off, and nowadays, we get all of that. Kids now are lucky to see that, they can dip into the real world of a player that they look up to and get a sense of who they are much more than what we could.”

The responsibility on his shoulders

Ferdinand also feels and knows the responsibility he has as a pundit. ‘’I’m very careful when I talk about things not to be personal, as I know how it feels. But [players] have to be very aware that we have a job to do and we are some of the main voices in the game now, like it or not. That’s a responsibility on our shoulders, and I can’t speak for everybody, but personally, I’m not here to be vindictive.’’

‘’I know what it’s like to be in these high-pressure situations where there’s a lot on the line,’’ admits Ferdinand. ‘’You’ve seen Becks’s documentary recently, what he had to live with after the World Cup.’’

Ferdinand also states that his role as a pundit is not too different from his role as a player. ‘’People seeing me being opinionated about stuff isn’t too dissimilar to what I was like in the changing room. It’s not like anybody’s going Oh my God, that ain’t the Rio I knew! I’ve always had an opinion and a loud voice.’’

Difference between commentating and punditry

Besides doing punditry, Ferdinand is also a commentator during matches. ‘’In the studio, you have time to prepare your stuff before a game, and you probably have five or six minutes at half-time or full-time before you go on. You’ve also been talking to the producer through the game to decide on the topics you’re going to look at.’’

‘’Co-comms is very off-the-cuff, so you have to be very quick on your feet,’’ said Ferdinand. ‘’You have to be reactive, but you also have to have an opinion. There could be a game-defining moment, and you have to make a call very quickly. You’ve got to get your eye in and be much more concentrated in those situations when you work co-comms. I like doing both, but I swear quite a lot when I’m watching football, so I have to really manage that – I get quite emotional!’’