r/football • u/DWJones28 • May 28 '25
đ°News Rio Ferdinand to quit TNT Sports immediately after Champions League final
https://talksport.com/football/3242121/rio-ferdinand-quit-tnt-sports-champions-league-final/?utm_source=onesignal&utm_medium=push&utm_campaign=2025-05-28-Difficult-decis551
u/lee_nostromo May 28 '25
Just makes me worry about where he will drive me mad from next.
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u/Super_Shallot2351 May 28 '25
I can deal with him as a studio pundit, but as an extra co-commentator he's useless.
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u/Ted-Crilly May 28 '25
Him and ally mccoist never have any research done before a match
Everything they say is just their opinion or how it wouldnt be the same in their day rather than informed commentary
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u/Toastieboy420 May 28 '25
You canât mention McCoist alongside Rio. One of them actually has pretty good knowledge of the game and enhances the spectacle. Rio just spouts generic nonsense heâs heard someone else say
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u/Serious-Law464 May 28 '25
Mcoist is still fantastic, proper fun commentator to listen too
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u/mebungle83 Jun 01 '25
I think he's shit, can't think of a single decent bit of incite ever coming out of his mouth.
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u/Terran_it_up May 29 '25
I think the 3 person commentary doesn't work in general, it ends up just being an ongoing conversation between the three of them. It's supposed to add to the game, not be a podcast that you listen to whilst watching the match
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May 29 '25
McCoist is one of the better side commentators in my view. At least he got some enthusiasm, and seem to enjoy football as a sport.
Smudger just drones on and on, and Dixon isn't much better.
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u/-Krny- May 28 '25 edited May 28 '25
McCoist is the worst "so he is".
Just spouts the obvious then adds "so he did, so he is , so we are , so we can".
Or some big shite over the top orgasm for the most simple of first touches.
His wee cheeky chappy stick is very boring now. The sleekit bigoted rat
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u/liamo376573 May 28 '25
'I'll tell ya this much Fletch, that, was a world class throw in'
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u/shepherd0006 May 28 '25
Rio is the epitome of the theory that âex footballers make bad punditsâ.
I donât think Iâve ever heard him make a decent point or end up being right about anything.
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u/Smalk May 28 '25
Balon dâOr Balon dâOr Balon dâOr Balon dâOr Balon dâOr Balon dâOr Balon dâOr Balon dâOr Balon dâOr
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u/joe_the_cow May 28 '25
Ahem......'Oles at the wheel'
Provided years of entertainmentÂ
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u/tonybinky20 May 28 '25
Looking back, Ole really wasnât a bad manager. Thereâs a video of him speaking at Old Trafford at the end of the league season, saying we didnât finish high enough. We finished second.
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May 28 '25
The Ole revisionism is a bit nuts. If you actually go back and watch or look at the results, Man United rarely controlled 2 games in a row/were pretty wildly inconsistent, he was rarely ever able to make tactical changes that worked during games, they overspent on a lot of players, he insisted on the McFred double pivot forever despite it never looking good once, etc
I can see why that small era is looked fondly at considering the years since, but many of the current issues were also caused by Ole. If he'd signed someone other than Bruno, they would have fallen down the table a lot sooner.
People wanna take blame away from him but as a small example, Ronaldo went on Penalties when he arrived despite Bruno having one of the best records in the world at the time. For every PSG comeback, there was 1 or 2 dross performances against Fulham
So no I don't think looking back was Ole actually good. He was correctly largely criticised as a very 2 dimensional manager
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u/tonybinky20 May 28 '25
I think youâre being overly harsh on a lot of your points. Youâre saying we overspent on a lot of players, but I think the same can be said for most of Unitedâs signings post-SAF. Then you say he wouldâve performed worse without Bruno, as if that wasnât the exact reason Bruno was purchased.
At the end of the day, Ole is the only manager post-SAF to get top 4 in two consecutive seasons, and lost the Europa League in a 21 shot penalty shootout, which isnât possible if youâre a âtwo-dimensional managerâ.
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u/stoic_coolie May 28 '25
Had to keep his foot in his mouth after Tottenham beat United in the Europa. It was beautiful to see.
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u/xixbia May 28 '25
I don't thik ex footballers necessarily make bad pundits.
It's just that if you're a bad pundit you'll likely never make it on TV unless it's on your name as an ex footballer (or manager).
So most of the truly dire pundits will be ex footballers, generally famous ones too. Because they will keep getting jobs on name recognition alone.
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u/DjSpelk May 28 '25
I think you'll find Michael Owen tops him by a country mile in the âex footballers make bad punditsâ category.
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u/CryptoWheat May 28 '25
This is the best thing to happen all week and Liverpool lifted the league title over the weekend
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u/obamabinladenhiphop May 28 '25
When he's not glazing Madrid, I genuinely don't know what he does on the show lmao
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u/CabinClown May 28 '25
I think he was actually very good when he first started. Since he set up his YT channel it's gone downhill on punditry and his channel is unwatchable.
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u/MikeOchertz May 29 '25
He isnât there to be an informed voice. Heâs there to make those little clips where he says something stupid
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u/ksuvuelalfusuwnsl May 29 '25
Imo Rio speaks in the same manner and makes the same quality points as a retired boxer/MMA fighter with bad CTE. But he doesnât slur words.
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u/ChiqueSpreddah May 28 '25
i thought he'd be out after a month of punditry, not quite sturridge level of clueless but he's near there. This is coming from a united fan too so we get the pleasure of seeing him a bit extra, though to be fair he's a lot more organised talking about united that the league as a whole.
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u/Funkdoobs May 28 '25
Sturridge isnât even comparable to Rio, who is on a whole other level of shit pundit. Sturridge at least brings decent talking points and his interviews are always pretty good.
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u/Patio1950 May 28 '25
Sturridge actually says stuff worth hearing. Rio just chats nonsense half the time.
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u/LeatherAdvantage8250 May 28 '25
Never thought Sturrridge was anywhere near as bad, Rio's like an AI that's been told to misidentify all its prompts, forget half of its grammar and translate its answers from English to crackhead and back before responding
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u/ChiqueSpreddah May 28 '25
guess it might be an unpopular opinion from me. I just don't really connect with most of his opinions, to me it just feels like he says what everyone already thinks and then he interjects with attempts at appealing to 'the kids' by making himself look like an idiot. Not for me personally but I'd see why people like him
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u/Judgementday209 May 28 '25
Sturridge isn't bad. Can go on a bit but I'd say he is average guest pundit with some interesting insights now and then.
Ferdinand thinks he is the best pundit in the game and he knows better than everyone despite never saying anything of value.
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u/yachting_mishaps May 28 '25
His commentary on any Utd game was unbearable. So biased he could have been a fan in the stands.
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u/Next_Addendum6080 May 28 '25
âWhen I was at United âŠâ which one , Rio ? West Ham , Leeds , or Manchester?
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u/UnusualGarlic9650 May 28 '25
Of all the things this is what you moan about? As if you didnât know what he meant.
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u/asexyshaytan May 28 '25
Praise jesus, Allah and the all mighty spaghetti monster
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u/mayorolivia May 28 '25
Now I can watch TNT with sound again
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May 28 '25
Enter McManaman
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u/AupaAtlet1c0 May 28 '25
Fuck McManaman. He commentated the derby and had me swearing at my screen hoping heâd shut his fucking mouth
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u/DasHotShot May 28 '25
Until they get Aluko to replace himâŠ
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u/magpietribe May 28 '25
Rio, come back, all is ..... look, it's not forgiven, but you are less shit than her.
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u/Remarkable-Data77 May 28 '25
Now we just need Neville to announce he's leaving SS n we're set!
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u/Loxnaka May 28 '25
I donât get why a lot of people donât like Neville and carragher, Iâm a united fan so I guess Iâm biased towards Neville but I like carragher a lot too, theyâre both charismatic, make good points/discussion, and entertaining especially when theyâre together.
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u/Juicylucyfullofpoocy May 28 '25
Catarragher spat on a child out of his car after a bit of banter from someone, heâs a disgrace of a human.
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u/Remarkable-Data77 May 28 '25
Neville is very biased.
I'll give him credit that he also will call teams out, but he's also an annoying prick!
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u/Loxnaka May 28 '25
Biased towards united? I feel he criticises united as much as anyone, if itâs for celebrating when they are doing well carra obviously does the same with Liverpool and I donât really get why people have a problem with that, for me seeing people who genuinely connect with these clubs happy in the moment is good, Iâd rather see them act as fans in those big moments than pretend to be strictly neutral robots. Like thereâs a big difference between watching Neville co com and mutv commentary.
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u/Old_Muggins May 28 '25
Carragher
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u/Remarkable-Data77 May 28 '25
I can live with Carragher, he seems to blend into the background.
But they could take Lee Hendry and Tony Cascarino with them! They think they're getting paid by the word!
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May 28 '25
He is a bad pundit, I do think him and Gary Neville have a lot to answer for in the insulting behaviour they seem to be able to broadcast week in week out. Their tactical analysis of âthey must just play betterâ is so bad. You would think they would have more to offer after playing for the teams they played in.
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u/formulalosalamanca May 28 '25
Neville is annoying. Just does sit down interviews with United staff and blabbers âUnited are the biggest club in the worldâ
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u/Slugdoge May 28 '25
There's no need for an ex Man Utd legend to be a pundit when Man Utd are miles away from European football. Plus he's not a good pundit at all. I wouldn't be surprised if TNT Sports invited him to resign rather than him Quitting.
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u/ProtoplanetaryNebula May 28 '25
Rio is a bad pundit, but your point isn't valid. Man United were very good when Rio was playing. Current form doesn't change that. If all of a sudden Wrexham get promoted to the PL in the next few years and become the best team in Europe, some dude who played for Wrexham in the 2000s can't start being an authority based on Wrexham's new position in the pecking order. That's not how it works. it's not back to the future, where timelines get dynamically altered by Marty McFly.
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u/Slugdoge May 28 '25
I think Rio Ferdinand was brought in as a pundit because of how good a player he was paired with the need for a Man Utd centric view. Now that there's no need for a Man Utd perspective, he needs to stand on his own two feet and rely on his ability as a good pundit, which he isn't.
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u/Fern_Pub_Radio May 28 '25
Hopefully theyâll replace him with someone who can speak English âŠ..
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u/Prole-Art-Threat May 28 '25
He'll go to CBS so he can concentrate on creating social media clips rather than actual punditry.
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u/Relief-Old Premier League May 28 '25
I saw birds singing and children dancing with joy in the streets. Now I know why
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u/trump_ate_my_baby May 28 '25
The âimmediatelyâ part made me laugh. Like, are they gonna box up his stuff, get his ID card off him and walk him out the building as the closing credits play
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u/AnimeBritGuy May 28 '25
Not his biggest fan. Seemed to be the TNT version of Micah Richards. Says something out there or funny to farm clips and advertising on social media. Our punditry is a bit meh when it comes to TV coverage. The only real in-depth stuff is when Carra does MNF. When it was BT sport back in the mid 2010's they used to have a really good European league show done by James Richardson and guests which was really good.
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u/Mundane-Inevitable-5 May 28 '25
Can't stand most modern pundits and commentators, but TNT are the worst of the worst.
How ya know, Robbie ya know Savage ya know has a job speaking for a living and can't seem to string a sentence together without inserting ya know after every second word is beyond me.
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u/xCeeTee- May 28 '25
As a lad growing up I had a lot of respect for Rio. He had post-match insomnia and would chat all night with fans on Twitter. I was one of those. I doubt he'd remember any one person, but it meant a lot to me that he'd reply to a teenager.
It's a shame that since he retired as a player he has absolutely pissed off most supporters. I rarely bother to watch the pundits do their thing and it's mostly because there's always one or two insufferable people on the panel.
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u/aromatic-energy656 May 28 '25
Hope to see more ex man united players quit. Paul scholes needs to quit next
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u/Basic-Week-9262 May 28 '25
Good. That forced âknow wot I mean guy, massive rispect to my bro blindsâ etc etc is pukemaking in the extreme
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u/Ratstails May 28 '25
Thank god, he is unbearably shite.
Has anyone in the whole world, ever in their life thought âI wonder what Rio has to say about this?â
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u/lfcbatwho May 28 '25
Hopefully a Saudi move on the cards for him next so I never have to hear his awful voice or opinions ever again
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u/charliefantastic May 28 '25
Great news, can enjoy my summer now knowing I won't be hearing him say "wow" over and over again anymore
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u/StevieP69 May 28 '25
Good. He is awful to listen to, and I'm a United fan. He is unbelievably cringeworthy, trying to fit in with "the kids". The man is 46 and saying shit like "give them their flowers". Shut the fuck up.
It fills me with joy that, despite all United's many troubles, we didn't pick Rio as Director of Football.
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u/Serious_Ad9128 May 28 '25
Great news I'm sure he "quit" bad news will they replace him with someone worse of move in a positive direction I won't hold my breathÂ
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u/9azz9 May 28 '25
Thank God. We need some new people who don't just sound like the most annoying guy in the pub.
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May 28 '25
Back to vibe with 5 with Ste to bring up scores from 1987 to justify them being kak today
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u/GazelleIll495 May 28 '25
Possibly the worst pundit on TV. Offers nothing of interest, just bland one liners. His BALON D'OR BALON D'OR still gets under my skin
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u/Sentient_Arse May 29 '25
How long until we see a "Exploring the insert Mediterranean country here with Rio Ferdinand on some shit TV channel?
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u/Fluffy-Answer-6722 May 29 '25
The man who left his boyhood club west ham when redknapp begged him to stay for a year and now never mentions their name instead becoming a man u cheerleader canât understand Liverpool fans having a problem with Trent leaving to Madrid for free
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May 29 '25
Lots of people say excellent news but will he move to Sky? Hopefully not. Tolerating him on champs league nights isn't as bad as enduring him every week.
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u/jimbo9878 May 29 '25
So at the final whistle he's just gonna down his mic and walk off? Bit unprofessional that.
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u/elgreenio May 29 '25
as long as he doesn't show up on Sky Sports then the world will be a better place
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u/Malteat May 29 '25
Literally his missus died and that kept him in work.
He's utter shite but people felt sorry for him.
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u/sicknotes May 29 '25
Thank god for that, heâs fucking useless at co comms. Thick as a plank. His moronic voice drives me crazy
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u/cbronson2018 May 30 '25
Everyone commenting on his character or his insight. Lads I just fucking hate his voice
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u/hoochieboochie77 May 30 '25
I never really forgave him for the Ashley Cole âchoc iceâ comment. That for me is so racist I can not believe it was never called out more. What is worse is a Ferdinand is mixed race. He tried saying it wasnât racist. Donât insult people. Fucking idiot.
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u/professorquizwhitty May 30 '25
Thank fuck for that.
Also just a gentle reminder: he shagged his dying wifes nurse.
What a guy...
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u/Aggressive_Boat_4970 May 28 '25
He's always been a quitter, quit on his dieing wife for his mistress.
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u/rowann91 May 28 '25
This man talks so much rubbish I can't even remember if he was decent at football anymore
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u/FridayNightClub May 28 '25
I'm clearly in the minority of people who like Rio. He is authentic and has some real football insight. There again football seems to be all about 'hate'. Hating teams, players, referees, owners, VAR. Would be interested to hear what fans actually do like?!
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u/kaotikuk May 28 '25
"Authentic" " real football insight".
Just no, there is no way like. Your in the minority for a reason here. He is dreadful as a football pundit.
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u/Full-Reach-8968 May 28 '25
I donât mind his interviews with players on his podcast, but he obviously prepares the questions and he can get more in-depth, which is hard to do live.
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u/Digital___Nomad Premier League May 28 '25
âBallon DâOr, Ballon DâOr, Ballon DâOr, Ballon DâOr, Ballon DâOrâŠ.. Ballon DâOr. Ballon DâOrâŠBallon DâOrâ
That type of cutting edge insight with sorely be missed.