Queens Park Rangers are considering making Rio Ferdinand the highest paid player at the club with a salary of up to £80,000 a week.

While Ferdinand, 35, is greatly attracted to joining Rangers, and working again with Harry Redknapp, the manager who gave him his professional debut at West Ham United, the former England captain has a multitude of offers to consider.

As a free agent, after being released last month by Manchester United, Ferdinand has also had interest from Aston Villa, Crystal Palace and West Ham, plus clubs from Major League Soccer, Dubai and China. Loïc Rémy is currently QPR’s highest paid player, on around £75,000 a week. Yet with the Frenchman thought to be leaving this summer, Tony Fernandes, the club’s majority shareholder, is conscious that any offer of £60,000 a week upwards would make Ferdinand the club’s best rewarded footballer.

In his Mail on Sunday column, Ferdinand, who will work for the BBC as an expert at the World Cup in Brazil, said: “I can assure you of one thing, though: I’m not quite ready to join the [Gary] Lineker-[Alan] Shearer retirement club just yet. I see myself as going to Rio very much as an active footballer with playing time ahead of me.

“It is feasible that in the coming weeks, perhaps even while I’m in South America, I’ll make a decision about the next stage in my career, and when that happens I’ll tell you about it.

“But I have options on the table from several clubs in England and overseas for next season and I’m intending to play on if the right situation arises. There is, in all honesty, nothing settled yet. Whatever I do next has to be right for me and my family and I’m going to take it one season at a time. I’m keeping myself fit and in shape, doing my running and my workouts, so I’ll be ready for whatever new club I join.”

With QPR back in the Premier League, after the 1-0 victory over Derby County in the Championship play-off final, and the Peckham-born defender keen to relocate back to the capital with his family, the west London club could prove ideal.

Redknapp believes Ferdinand would be a key asset in the challenge of ensuring QPR are not relegated straight away.

Last week, he said: “Rio is a very good player. I signed Rio at 14 [for West Ham]. He’s a fantastic player and a great pro. He’s probably been the best centre-back in Europe in the last few years. What a career he’s had at Manchester United. You need good lads who know the game. They can run the dressing room. It’s an easy game when you’ve got good players.”

With QPR having been relegated the season before last, Redknapp added: “QPR need a bit of experience. Most importantly, though, we need players we can rely on and who are prepared to have a go. Last time there were lots of players brought in who were not really up to the job. We have to make sure we’ve got the right sort of lads this time around.”