Rio Ferdinand has revealed that he and Frank Lampard stopped speaking to each other during their playing careers.
The former England internationals were friends and teammates at West Ham United, where they began their respective careers and progressed from the youth-team to the first-team together. Ferdinand left for Leeds United in 2000 and then joined Manchester United in 2002, becoming the most expensive defender in the world on both occasions.
Lampard signed for Chelsea from West Ham in 2001 and remained at Stamford Bridge for 13 years, eventually becoming the club’s record goalscorer with 211 goals.
Between them, the pair won nine Premier League titles, four FA Cups, four League Cups, the Champions League twice and 187 England caps. However, playing for rival clubs put an end to their friendship for a long time, according to Ferdinand. The former United defender has revealed that his will to win had a negative impact on his friendship with Lampard, and the pair drifted apart during their time playing for two of the best teams in Europe.
“I wrote a chapter in my book, it was about Frank Lampard,” Ferdinand said during an interview The NFL Show on the BBC.
“We grew up together at West Ham and then we both went separate ways. I was at Manchester United, he was at Chelsea. We did everything together from 16 to 21 – roomed together, travelled together, we did everything. When I went to Man Utd and he went to Chelsea, we stopped talking, we didn’t speak about it, we just stopped talking. I wrote this chapter at the end of my career and, out of courtesy, I said, ‘I’m going to send it to you, Frank. Just read this and let me know if it’s okay to put in’.
“He text me back and said, ‘Rio, if I was doing a chapter on you, it would be word for word’. We didn’t hate each other, but I didn’t want to give him anything that he might go back to Chelsea with. I didn’t like him anymore because he was playing for Chelsea, he was getting his hands on the trophy that I wanted. We just grew apart and we didn’t speak. And now we speak, he was at my birthday the other day. What sport can do to a personal relationship is nuts. All for the obsession of winning.”
The pair now work together as pundits on BT Sport. To watch a clip from the interview, click here.
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