'I wish I'd retired at Man United': Rio Ferdinand opens up on his nightmare year at QPR, when his first wife Rebecca was dying, admitting his body was 'shutting down' and players 'refused to train over money'

Rio Ferdinand has admitted he regrets moving to QPR at the end of his career.

The former England defender enjoyed a glittering time in the game, which included a trophy-laden 12-year period at Man United.

During his spell 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 favour 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 campaign, making just 11 league appearances as he struggled for form and fitness, before QPR were relegated after coming 20th.

And Ferdinand, speaking on the Stick to Football podcast, brought to you by Sky Bet, reflected on his time at the club and admitted it was a mistake to continue playing after leaving United.

'I wish I finished my career at Manchester United, rather than moving to QPR,' he said.

'Because it was the first time I had been in a changing room where people were talking about money and wages. 

'You’d hear murmurings of players talking about it and I found it mad. We had players not wanting to train because they were on a certain amount of money, the intensity wasn’t that high, and for whatever Harry Redknapp was trying to do, the players weren’t buying into it, and that team ended up getting relegated.'

QPR - who were under the ownership of free-spending Tony Fernandes at the time - splashed out that summer on their return to the top flight, bringing in several big-name players on high wages, including Sandro, Leroy Fer and Steven Caulker.

Meanwhile, their squad also included the likes of Rob Green, Joey Barton, Niko Kranjcar and Shaun Wright-Phillips.

And, along with a difficult dressing room, Ferdinand explained how the tough year was compounded by a struggle for fitness and personal issues.

He added: 'I used to travel in with Bobby Zamora as we were living in the same area, and I had been at QPR for about a month, and I remember one day in the car, he started laughing for no reason. 

'When he stopped, he asked me why I was at QPR as he could see my body was shutting down, I was getting injuries, I was having to plaster myself through games and manage myself through training sessions. 

'For me, I wanted one final season, playing in London, back home, my kids were of an age where they understood football a lot more, and then my wife got ill at the time and that compounded everything.

'I was talking to clubs abroad before I moved to QPR because that we the first thing I wanted to do, but personal circumstances changed that.'

Ferdinand - whose first wife Rebecca Ellison tragically passed away in May 2015 following a battle with breast cancer - also reflected on how, despite a realisation before the move that his body was starting to struggle, he felt he would be OK in west London.

'I was getting injuries before I joined QPR,' he explained. 'But I did genuinely think that I would be fine and that I’d be able to get through it.

'I spoke with Harry Redknapp, who was QPR manager at the time, who said that he’d manage my minutes, that I didn’t need to train every day, and just make sure I was ready for every match, and I thought that I could do that easily, but that wasn’t the case.'

Ferdinand were speaking on the Stick to Football podcast, brought to you by Sky Bet.