Rio Ferdinand Presents

After watching England’s draw with Ghana at a local bar in West Hollywood, Rio is joined by Ste Howson and Joel Beya to look at what England needed to break down an organised defence.There’s praise for Rio’s former assistant manager at Manchester United, Carlos Queiroz, who led the Ghanaian side and Rio reveals his former team mates were reminded of Queiroz’s coaching sessions during his time at Old Trafford.And after Cristiano Ronaldo’s 2 goals - Rio also has a bone to pick with both of his co-hosts who seemingly wrote off the prospect of Ronaldo performing and leading Portugal to the latter stages of the tournament.The trio debate whether it’s time for Thomas Tuchel to start Bukayo Saka and Marcus Rashford who both made positive impacts off the bench for the second match in a row and Ste details why England’s tactics were frustating to watch.Brought to you in partnership with Airbnb.

Rio is poolside at his Beverly Hills Airbnb with Ste Howson and Joel Beya to discuss a pair of players who have been criticised heavily at the World Cup.Jeremy Doku has faced huge media pressure after he announced his intention to travel home from the tournament to be with his wife for the birth of his first child - Rio backs his decision and recounts his own experience at the births of his own children as moments where family puts football into perspective.After failing to score in his opening game - Rio’s former team mate Cristiano Ronaldo has been criticised and compared to other forwards who started the tournament in impressive fashion.Following Joao Neves’ comments on his captain’s role within the team - Rio details how Ronaldo bought into the team mentality in the Manchester United dressing room and shuts down any criticism of Ronaldo’s willingness to work as part of a collective.Rio also picks his front three of the tournament so far which will surprise some people and Ste asks you to get in touch with the teams, players and moments that have surprised you the most for the next podcast recording and Joel is left in the dark about an escapade booked by Rio and Ste for the trio to experience whilst they're in LA together.Brought to you in partnership with Airbnb #ad

This is Thierry Henry as you rarely hear him - brutally honest, analytical and still completely obsessed with competition, winning and perfection at the highest level of football.Henry visits Rio at his Airbnb in LA and opens up on the mentality behind his legendary career, including the coach at Clairefontaine who completely changed his understanding of how he moved on the pitch and why he genuinely preferred creating goals over scoring them himself - even if people never believe him. There’s some extraordinary insight into Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, with Henry explaining why Messi’s work ethic is hugely underrated, how quickly he justified the total freedom given to him by manager Pep Guardiola and why football should stop trying to compare the two greatest players of their generation. He also shares brilliant stories around Messi’s mentality, aura inside the dressing room and how he developed into a killer from set-pieces.The conversation dives into the modern game too, with Henry arguing football has become too robotic and explaining why players like Lamine Yamal, Michael Olise and Rayan Cherki stand out because they still take risks and play with freedom. There’s also special praise for Cherki’s dribbling ability whilst pointing out that if the Man City forward develops his mentality off the ball he could become unstoppable.There’s huge praise too for Harry Kane, Julian Alvarez and Bruno Fernandes, with Henry defending Bruno’s mentality before Henry also discusses France’s World Cup chances, Ousmane Dembélé’s evolution into a winning player and why England genuinely could have won the 2002 World Cup if they had beaten Brazil. Brought to you in partnership with Airbnb #ad

Following England’s opening victory over Croatia, Rio is full of praise for the way Thomas Tuchel set up and managed the team after they scored 4 goals and created many more opportunities. After watching the match in his Airbnb with Joel Beya and Ste Howson - Rio praises the performances of Jude Bellingham, Marcus Rashford and Elliot Anderson. There were some concerns about the defence who were put under pressure numerous times but Rio explains why John Stones challenge of switching sides as a centre-back is such a difficult one to overcome. Harry Kane joins the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland and Lionel Messi who all scored at least two goals in their opening fixture which prompts a debate around the effectiveness of Cristiano Ronaldo after he drew a blank for Portugal against DR Congo. According to Rio - England’s squad depth could be a hugely decisive factor in their journey through the tournament and suggests only France can compete with the attacking prowess on the bench that Tuchel has at his disposal

Rio invites his old team mate Robbie Keane to his Airbnb to discuss the big-name strikers who have started so impressively at the World Cup.With Mbappe and Haaland scoring braces and Messi going one better with a hat-trick - Keane declares this as a tournament that Kylian Mbappe can “take hold” of before debating whether Haaland or Zlatan is the better player.Keane praises former team-mate Luka Modric and warns England about his playmaking abilities coming to the fore in the heat of the United States and also gives some brilliant insight into the mentality of Tuchel’s captain Harry Kane after he worked with Kane as a youngster at Tottenham.Rio gives his advice to the players who are in line to make their tournament debut for the Three Lions and discusses the BBQ he threw for the famous names of Beverly Hills who pitched up to the Airbnb to enjoy their evening overlooking the Los Angeles sunset.#worldcup2026 #WorldCup #FIFAWorldCup #WorldCupLA #LionelMessi #CristianoRonaldo #Messi #Ronaldo #BeverlyHills #LA #LosAngeles #RioFerdinand #RobbieKeane #Five #FootballPodcast #BehindTheScenes #ThreeLions #England #KylianMbappe #ErlingHaaland #ZlatanIbrahimovic #HarryKane #ThomasTuchel #LukaModric #Tottenham #Spurs #StrikerMentality #LAStyle #SunsetBBQ #SoccerStories #exclusiveinterview Subscribe: http://bit.ly/15QO9WERio Ferdinand Presents: rioferdinandpresents.comRio Ferdinand Presents Instagram: https://instagram.com/rioferdinandpresentsRio Ferdinand Presents Twitter/X: https://x.com/RioMeetsRio Ferdinand Presents Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rioferdinandpresentsRio Ferdinand Presents TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@rioferdinandpresentsRio Ferdinand Presents Threads: https://www.threads.net/@rioferdinandpresentsRio Ferdinand Instagram: https://instagram.com/rioferdy5Rio Ferdinand Twitter/X: https://x.com/rioferdy5Rio Ferdinand Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RioFerdinandOfficialRio Ferdinand TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@rioferdy5Rio Ferdinand Threads: https://www.threads.net/@rioferdy5

This is Kaká as you rarely see or hear him - one of football’s most private superstars sitting down in Rio's Airbnb for a remarkably open reflection on a career that made him a global icon and one of the last true Ballon d’Or winning number 10s.The Brazilian legend opens up about the swimming pool accident that nearly ended his journey before it had even begun and why his faith became even stronger after what doctors described as a “miracle” recovery.Despite becoming one of the biggest stars in world football, Kaká remains remarkably humble throughout this conversation - discussing how his family kept him grounded and why his mentality was completely different to Cristiano Ronaldo’s obsession with becoming “the best”.He also gives rare insight into the legendary AC Milan dressing room under Carlo Ancelotti, including how Pirlo, Gattuso and Seedorf helped shape him into a Ballon d’Or winner and why Pirlo could “find him anywhere” on the pitch.The conversation leads into a fascinating discussion around the disappearance of classic number 10s in modern football, with Kaká explaining why the game no longer creates enough space for maverick players to thrive. He names Cole Palmer as his favourite English player to watch because of the freedom and simplicity in his game, while also revealing that Lamine Yamal and Neymar still excite him in a way most modern footballers don’t.There are also brilliant stories around Ronaldo, Neymar and Brazil’s dressing room culture - while Kaká explains why Ancelotti is the perfect manager to lead Brazil into the World Cup and why players instantly trust his leadership.Brought to you in partnership with Airbnb #ad

Rio has landed in Los Angeles and invites Joel and Ste over to his Beverly Hills Airbnb for the first pod in the US where they look ahead to the tournament, analyse the dilemmas facing Thomas Tuchel and pick their favourites to win the World Cup.Rio discusses why he believes Harry Kane is the best striker in the world based on current form, what Bukayo Saka needs to add to his game to be considered on the same level as Vinicius Jr. After spending time with Tuchel, Rio outlines why he “loves” the German and picks out one player left at home that he disagrees with.There’s a big debate around how Portugal’s manager Roberto Martinez should utilise the presence and ability of Cristiano Ronaldo throughout the tournament and Rio picks his “unbeatable” front 4 that he wishes Didier Deschamps would select for France.#WorldCup2026 #WorldCup #Beverly Hills #LA #LosAngeles #RioFerdinand #JoelBeya #SteHowson #Five #FootballPodcast #BehindTheScenes #ThomasTuchel #ThreeLions #England #HarryKane #BukayoSaka #ViniciusJr #CristianoRonaldo #RobertoMartinez #Portugal #France #DidierDeschamps #Tactics #StrikerMentality #SoccerStories #ExclusiveInterview

This is Gary Neville as you’ve never seen him before - sitting with Rio in his Airbnb and opening up about some hugely personal topics including the loss of his father, the abuse he suffered when out on the street with his family and why he should never have pursued a coaching or managerial career.Despite Rio’s best efforts, Neville is typically self-deprecating about his own playing ability and instead focuses on the greatness around him - both in terms of mentality as well as the players who were technically brilliant.He gives insight into how the England setup changed from his time as a player to when he coached the national team under Roy Hodgson - and there’s huge praise for Harry Kane’s attitude and “seriousness” about the way he approaches football at the highest level.This episode is the very first time that Rio and Neville have discussed the time that Gary brought the England players together and threatened to strike because of the way Rio was treated by the FA which leads to a brutal and honest reflection on Neville's actions as the team’s union rep.Brought to you in partnership with Airbnb #ad. 

This is Ollie Watkins reflecting on a journey that very few footballers ever experience - opening up on going from League Two and non-league football to scoring one of England’s biggest goals in recent history. Chilling with Rio in his Airbnb, Watkins reveals why he still thinks about those early days every time he walks out for Aston Villa in the Champions League.Despite becoming one of the Premier League’s most consistent forwards, Watkins remains hugely grounded throughout this conversation - discussing the impatience that drove him early in his career, the responsibility he felt during Steven Gerrard’s time at Aston Villa and why Unai Emery completely changed the standards and mentality within the squad.There’s fascinating insight into the mentality of elite strikers too, including why Erling Haaland’s role is “so difficult”, how studying Ruud van Nistelrooy helped develop his instincts inside the box and why Harry Kane’s leadership is more about standards than shouting.Watkins also explains the challenge of being used as an impact substitute for England and reveals the voice note he sent to friends before his huge semi-final goal after growing frustrated on the bench.The pair also discuss Thomas Tuchel’s arrival as England manager, why the squad are already buying into his demand for more arrogance and confidence, and how nobody in the camp can beat him at table tennis. Plus brilliant stories and insight on Jude Bellingham, Cole Palmer, Marcus Rashford, Morgan Rogers, Phil Foden and why Watkins believes criticism of Gareth Southgate was completely unfair.There’s also a brilliant look into dressing room culture and player personalities - from fashion disasters in the France squad and ping-pong battles at England camp to why Michael Owen’s advice means more than anybody else’s and the underrated qualities that make Ezri Konsa such a difficult defender to play against.Brought to you in partnership with Airbnb #ad