Rio Ferdinand has admitted he regrets his move to QPR at the end of his career.
The former England defender enjoyed a brilliant time in the game, including a trophy-laden 12-year spell at Man United.
During his time at Old Trafford, Ferdinand made 455 appearances and won 14 trophies, including six Premier League titles and one Champions League.
However, after falling out of favor in his final season, Ferdinand left United in the summer of 2014 and joined newly promoted QPR under Harry Redknapp.
The defender had hoped to end his career on a high, but endured a nightmare season. He made just 11 league appearances as he struggled for form and fitness before QPR were relegated after reaching 20th.
Rio Ferdinand admitted he regretted making the move to QPR after leaving Manchester United
Ferdinand signed for QPR in the summer of 2014, but had a dismal season at the club
Ferdinand’s nightmare campaign came at a time when his first wife, Rebecca Ellison, was battling an illness. She passed away in 2015 after a battle with breast cancer (pictured in 2009)
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And Ferdinand, speaking of the Stick with the football podcastis sponsored by Sky betreflected on his time at the club and admitted it was a mistake to continue playing after leaving United.
“I wish I had ended my career at Manchester United instead of moving to QPR,” he said.
‘Because it was the first time I was in a dressing room where people talked about money and wages.
‘You heard mutterings from players talking about it and I thought it was crazy. We had players who didn’t want to train because they had a certain amount of money, the intensity wasn’t that high, and whatever Harry Redknapp tried to do, the players didn’t believe in it, and that team ended up getting relegated.’
QPR – then owned by the free-spending Tony Fernandes – splashed out on their return to the top flight that summer, signing a number of big players on big wages, including Sandro, Leroy Fer and Steven Caulker.
Meanwhile, their squad also included Rob Green, Joey Barton, Niko Kranjcar and Shaun Wright-Phillips.
And alongside a difficult dressing room, Ferdinand explained how the tough year was compounded by a battle for fitness and personal issues.
He added: ‘I used to travel with Bobby Zamora a lot because we lived in the same area, and I was at QPR for about a month, and I remember one day in the car he started laughing for no reason.
‘When he retired he asked me why I was at QPR because he saw my body shutting down, I was getting injuries, having to push myself through games and manage myself through training sessions.
‘For me, I wanted one last season, to play in London, at home, my children were at an age where they understood football much better, and then my wife got sick and that made everything worse.
Ferdinand claimed that players openly discussed money and wages in the dressing room
Ferdinand admitted he wished he would end his career at United after 12 trophy-laden years
‘I was in talks with clubs abroad before moving to QPR as that was the first thing I wanted to do, but personal circumstances changed that.’
Ferdinand – whose first wife Rebecca Ellison tragically passed away in May 2015 after a battle with breast cancer – also reflected on how, despite realizing before the move that his body was beginning to struggle, he felt things would go well in West London .
“I had injuries before I joined QPR,” he explained. “But I really thought it would be okay and that I could get through it.
‘I spoke to Harry Redknapp, QPR manager at the time, who said he would manage my minutes, that I didn’t have to train every day and make sure I was ready for every game, and I thought I could do that easily, but that wasn’t the case.’
Ferdinand spoke about the Stick to football podcast, brought to you by Sky bet.
