Talent agency WME has signed retired English soccer star Rio Ferdinand as a client in all areas.
Since ending his player career, Ferdinand has been active in the media space as a broadcaster and TV pundit covering the Champions League and the English Premier League, currently for Warner Bros. Discovery’s TNT Sports.
With the FIFA World Cup coming to North America next year, the agency will be focusing on securing broadcast, digital, and commercial opportunities in the U.S. for him as enthusiasm builds for the tournament kicking off in June 2026. The big soccer event will be jointly hosted by 16 cities in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.
The World Cup 2026 will kick off in Mexico on June 11, with the finals set for July 19 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
As a world-class defender, Ferdinand played 81 times for the England national team, becoming a member of three FIFA World Cup squads and also serving as team captaine. In 2008, he captained his club Manchester United to a UEFA Champions League final victory over FC Chelsea.
The star, 46, has also built out his digital business, Rio Ferdinand Presents, which now has nearly 1.3 million subscribers on YouTube. Ferdinand has more than 30 million followers across various social platforms.
In 2018, Ferdinand received the Robert Flaherty Award for Single Documentary at the BAFTA Television Awards for Rio Ferdinand: Being Mum and Dad, a film he made about his late wife Rebecca Ellison for BBC One.
Ferdinand made a foray into film, becoming an executive producer on Alex de Rakoff’s 2009 gangster movie Dead Man Running, starring Danny Dyer and 50 Cent. The former soccer star has also been urging young people to stay away from a life of crime.
In 2022, Ferdinand was awarded an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honors list for his services to soccer and charity. He will continue to be managed by New Era Ingenious.
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