Rio Ferdinand Position Defender Club Manchester United FC D.O.B 07.11.1978

Career highlights
He signed for West Ham United a few days after his seventeenth birthday, and quickly attracted rave reviews for his excellent ball-playing skills and mature displays at the heart of the West Ham defence. Having made almost 150 appearances for West Ham, Rio moved to Leeds United in November 2000 for a club record £18m.

Any doubts that Rio would be affected by the massive transfer fee were quickly dispelled as Rio swiftly established himself in the Leeds defence with numerous man-of-the-matches performances in both the Premiership and Champions League. Now with Manchester United.

A stylish and accomplished defender, Peckham-born Rio has already been compared to the great Bobby Moore.

That highest of compliments may have come a little too early for Rio, who made his England debut in a the Wembley friendly against Cameroon in 1997 (won 2-0), just eight days after his nineteenth birthday. He has since been a regular for both Kevin Keegan and Sven-Goran Eriksson, and looks likely to establish himself as England's first-choice centre back for many more years.

Rio was an integral part of England's World Cup campaign, both in the qualifying- where he excelled in England's historic 5-1 victory over Germany, and in the finals, where he was undoubtedly one of the star defenders.