Rio Ferdinand has described being overwhelmed by the support he received from football fans after his wife died.



The former England captain said Rebecca Ellison’s battle with cancer was the most difficult period for his family and paid tribute to her as “an incredibly brave woman”.

A host of football personalities, including Sir Alex Ferguson and Ferdinand’s former Manchester United team-mate Nemanja Vidić, turned out for Ellison’s funeral.

Writing in the Sun, Ferdinand said: “It has been the most difficult period of my life, what with managing the emotions of our three children and watching such a great woman as my wife Rebecca die without being able to do anything about it.

“After Rebecca died, we held a service on a lovely sunny day which was arranged to perfection. Rebecca was an organisational freak and planned much of it herself while the kids picked the music. She wanted it to be a celebration of her life rather than a morbid occasion and it went just the way she would have liked.”

He thanked the world of football for its good wishes, including fans at his former clubs West Ham and Manchester United as well as Liverpool.

“The day it was announced that Rebecca had died, we were overwhelmed by message of support … The kids saw it all and were telling me, ‘Look Dad, have you seen what they are doing for Mum?’ Those are good memories for them,” he said. “It was refreshing to see such compassion in the game, with tribalism removed.”

The couple married in August 2009 on Peter Island in the British Virgin Islands. The footballer rented the entire 1,800-acre resort for the ceremony. He and Ellison have three children, Lorenz, nine, Tate, six, and four-year-old Tia.

According to reports, Ellison, 34, died after fighting breast cancer. Ferdinand, 36, also said he felt guilty about not being able to play a full part in Queens Park Rangers’ season, during which they were relegated from the Premier League.

His wife’s illness had only been known to an intimate circle of family and friends, with players at the club unaware of why he was unavailable for selection, Ferdinand said.