Rio Ferdinand’s ‘position over UK return’ after wife’s tearful video | Football | Sport

He has since purchased a £6million property in the low-tax, high-compliance jurisdiction and has also made multiple financial investments in the UAE. However, not everything is running smoothly as his partner Kate, whom he wed in 2019 four years after his first wife Rebecca Ellison passed away from breast cancer, has confessed she experiences periods of homesickness. Ferdinand and Kate made the relocation with their five-year-old son Cree and two-year-old daughter Shae, alongside the former defender’s 14-year-old daughter Tia, from his first marriage with Ellison. However, his two eldest sons Lorenz, 19, and Tate, 17, chose to remain in the UK.

EXPRESS SPORT ON FB! Get all the best sports news and much more on our Facebook page

Lorenz recently penned his first professional contract with Brighton and Hove Albion last summer, whilst Tate Ferdinand is in the U21s squad of the Seagulls. Speaking on her Blended podcast, Kate became emotional after acknowledging she has “struggled” with living away from his two eldest sons, as well as her friends and family in London, despite Dubai being an “amazing” place to live in.

She said: “I feel like we’ve opened our eyes to a different world. But I love London, I love the UK. I love so many things about the UK. I do feel happy in Dubai, but I’m just missing a part of me.”

Given Lorenz and Tate’s promising football careers, it seems unlikely they’ll be relocating to Dubai in the near future. However, according to the Daily Mail, Ferdinand also appears unlikely to return to the UK.

In a recent interview with The National, Ferdinand praised Dubai’s education system, saying: “I thought about moving, then we went back again in February [2025] for a little look at the schools just in case, and it just pricked my mind to think about it. That was almost like a big kicker for me because the education system felt different, felt better for my kids.

“The children who are coming are 14, which is perfect because it’s their two years of GCSEs starting this August. Then we’ve got a four and a two-year-old, so it’s perfect timing for them as well. And the curriculum is English curriculum, but it’s just done a different way. I feel the teachers in the UK feel a little bit like undervalued, underpaid.”

Ensure our latest sport headlines always appear at the top of your Google Search by making us a Preferred Source. Click here to activateor add us as Preferred Source in your Google search settings

Ferdinand has also confessed that he relishes his detachment from football, attributing this to the incessant schedule that dictated his life as a player and pundit. Furthermore, the former England skipper has invested in the Middle Eastern sports platform Koora Break, which is drawing approximately 800 million visitors each month.

“Everyone was saying, ‘Well what are you doing?’ It’s just a fast growing place,” he said to Bloomberg TV in November, when questioned about his investment in the platform. “We’ve seen with all of the investment that’s going, in terms of media, football, sport in general. It’s crazy the growth there.”

Given his diverse interests, the likelihood of him returning to the UK appears increasingly slim. There are also the tax implications of residing in the Middle Eastern city, which has emerged as a hotspot for social media influencers, tech entrepreneurs and digital nomads.

His relocation to Dubai, preceding the tax hikes on businesses in the UK, as well as increases in capital gains tax, inheritance tax and VAT on private schools, led Ferdinand to express doubts about how tax revenue is utilised by the government.

In November, he told LBC: “If things like the health service, for example, was absolutely flying and working perfectly well then I think people wouldn’t mind paying tax.

“Ferdinand has also admitted he is enjoying not being involved in football, citing the relentless footballing calendar which governed his life as a player and as a pundit. Moreover, the ex-England captain has also invested in the Middle Eastern sports platform Koora Break, which is attracting around 800million visitors per month.

“But when there’s things that are falling apart and going wrong in the country, then I sit there and go, ‘we pay towards tax and is it really going towards the things that are actually benefiting the people that live here? And that’s the big question that needs answering. I think a lot of us know the answer to that.”