Rio Ferdinand makes decision on becoming a manager as he speaks out on quitting England

Rio Ferdinand has no interest in a coaching career change as he aims to "be more present" with his family after leaving England. The former Manchester United man left his punditry role at TNT Sports at the end of last season, with plans to focus more on his personal life after departing for Dubai.

Ferdinand had worked for the broadcaster for a decade since his retirement from the top-flight in 2015, offering up his commentary and bold opinions on various major matches across the Premier League and Champions League. The 46-year-old has often been one to divide opinion, consistently voicing his thoughts on his former club United and their struggles over recent years.

While many may have expected the ex-defender to take the leap into management, similar to his former team-mates Gary Neville and Roy Keane, that plan is off the table for Ferdinand. Speaking to the Mail, he said: "I wouldn’t have moved away if I wanted to go into management.

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"I’d manage my little boy’s team maybe, but nowhere else." Ferdinand now lives in Dubai with his wife Kate, and their children - son Cree, four, and daughter Shae, two - after making the decision to quit punditry for TNT Sports. Recently, his three kids from his previous marriage to the late Rebecca Ellison - Lorenz, 19, Tate, 17, and Tia, 14 - visited the Ferdinands in Dubai after deciding to remain in the UK.

He still keeps up with various other media responsibilities, including his YouTube channel that focuses mainly on the latest at Old Trafford and also in the Premier League. Discussing how his son keeps up with the top flight while thousands of miles away, Ferdinand added: "We are watching games. Obviously, he has to stay up a little bit later than normal but it’s still been good."

He still hopes to make it to more games in person, but admits he is looking forward to just taking in the sport and not watching for his work's sake. Ferdinand said: "Working at TNT and being heavily involved in travelling to games, I’m not doing that as much now.

"But as the season goes by I’ll get to more and more games. That’s inevitable because when you love football the way I do, you just want to watch some football. I’ll be taking in some games locally as well, I’m sure.

"I’m still working and doing bits and pieces, but being around the family and being more present was one of the reasons for coming here and it’s really paying off, so that’s nice."

Despite taking a step back from punditry, Ferdinand is still making his feelings known on United ahead of the all-important Manchester derby this weekend. Ruben Amorim's side will take on Pep Guardiola's City on Sunday at 4:30pm, and the ex-Red Devils star was on hand to deliver his thoughts on the upcoming game.

Reflecting on which current United players are good enough to start in a combined Manchester XI, Ferdinand said: "Bruno [Fernandes]. I put Leny Yoro in there. I think he is going to be a standout this year. [Bryan] Mbeumo probably gets in there now. [Matheus] Cunha might have a chance.

"At the moment City have got a better squad than us, I think that’s a fact. I don’t think many people would argue with that. That’s just the way it is at the moment. But Man United have had a good transfer window, ins and outs, and hopefully we’ll see the benefits of that by the end of the season.

"We needed more pace and players who can execute a transition both ways; more durability, more ability to keep pace with teams. They have addressed that, definitely in the forward areas. I still think more of a dynamic midfielder could have been brought in. I think they attempted but it didn’t materialise. I think they’re going the right way in that."

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