Ferdinand - I wont quit

Published: 11 Apr 2009 - 12:38:41

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Rio Ferdinand admits he is prepared to sacrifice his body in order to continue playing football. The Manchester United defender celebrated his 30th birthday last November, but insists that he is not starting to plan for his retirement. Although accumulated injuries, including the groin problem he is currently suffering from, may begin to take their toll in the coming years of his career, Ferdinand is determined to battle through the pain. "If I can play for another seven years until I'm 37 or something like that and I have got to have injections to play, it wouldn't bother me that I might have a limp or something like that after I've finished playing football," Ferdinand told The Times. "I'm a little bit concerned it might become more of a problem as I get older, but I don't really like to think about it like that. Pain "I'm quite good at blocking pain out, I'm not into moaning about it or anything like that. "I've got a bad ankle that I've got over loads of times, but now I'm getting a little bit older you start to feel it a little bit more. "But I'm nowhere near the point where I feel old. I still feel 23 or 24." Ferdinand roundly criticised players who use injury as an excuse to take time off from playing, but was adamant that attitude is not prevalent at his own club. "There's no-one like that at United, who takes what they have for granted, no-one," he added. Disgrace "But you do get footballers who say: 'I can't be bothered, I've got a hammy this weekend, I've got a night out on Saturday somewhere and I have got to travel up there so I can't be bothered playing'. "That kind of stuff I think is an absolute disgrace, but there are people who will do that and people who are just happy to be collecting money. Ferdinand cites players like Paolo Maldini, who is still playing in his forties, as an inspiration, although the United ace admits that he may find holding off retirement for so long more difficult, due to the physical nature of the Premier League. He said: "People like Maldini are my inspiration. You look at yourself and say: 'I want to do that'. I think the only difference with someone like Maldini is the league he plays in. "Serie A is not as fast or free-flowing as our football and that might be the biggest obstacle to me playing at 40 at that level, but you never know."