Rio Ferdinand was an excellent centre-back during his time playing for the likes of West Ham United and Manchester United; albeit perhaps not as good as his press post-retirement might have you believe.
Nowadays, he is best known as being a mediocre pundit, often a figure of fun based on how often what he says about any given situation ends up being completely and utterly incorrect.
He has wanted to be a presenter for some time, however, as shown by the fact that he briefly hosted a show on ITV called Rio’s World Cup Wind-Ups, but what was it all about?
The Basis of the Show
In the United States of America, the actor Ashton Kutcher worked with Jason Goldberg in order to produce a TV show called Punk’d. That was similar in nature to other TV shows like Candid Camera and TV’s Bloopers & Practical Jokes. In essence, the show saw Kutcher carrying out pranks on fellow celebrities using hidden cameras in order to catch them out for the amusement of the watching public.
For some reason, someone at ITV thought that the World Cup in 2006 was a good opportunity to do something similar, only using Rio Ferdinand in the Ashton Kutcher role.
@badfirsttouchtrivia Rio ferdinand we havent forgotten #rio #ferdinand #ucl #manu #arsenal ♬ original sound – Bad first touch – trivia
Just as Kutcher used to inform the celebrities that they had been ‘Punk’d’, so too did Ferdinand need a catchphrase in order to ensure that his victims knew that it was all part of an elaborate joke. At the end of each of his wind-ups, Ferdinand would look to the camera and declare, “You got merked!” Merked, of course, is a slang term that is generally used in order to mean defeated, humiliated or even killed.
Thankfully, none of the footballers that Ferdinand used his time to prank ended up dead, with few even feeling all that humiliated at the end of it, but it was good fun for the viewers at home.
Working with Accomplices
In order to be able to successfully carry out any pranks, it is normal for the prankster to require the assistance of some accomplices. Without their help, after all, the intended victim might well be able to smell a rat or would be difficult to be able to persuade to get into a situation in which they could be pranked in the first place.
For Rio Ferdinand, the obvious thing to do when it came to pranking his fellow football stars was to turn to the likes of their teammates, friends and loved ones so as to be able to pull a wool over the victim’s eyes and get them into a terrible position in the first place.
As a result, Ferdinand turned to Colleen McLoughlin, who later became Colleen Rooney, in order to trick the person that would later become her husband. Ryan Giggs, meanwhile, was used in order to fool his and Ferdinand’s fellow Manchester United player, Gary Neville.
John Terry was the accomplice in the prank on Shaun Wright-Phillips, whilst Robbie Fowler, the former Liverpool player, was able to help Ferdinand trick Peter Crouch. All of the pranks were different from one another, tailored in order to do what they could to be able to get the biggest laugh from the pranks.
The Pranks Themselves
Each of the players involved was caught up in pranks of their own. Gary Neville was seen as the ideal candidate on account of the fact that he can’t stop himself from saying what’s on his mind. Ferdinand sent in some ‘police officers’ in order to suggest that Neville had been speeding, ignoring traffic signals and committing other such incidents of poor driving.
Ashley Cole was accused of accidentally deleting a music track that was ‘being recorded’ for a charity deal. Shaun Wright-Phillips, meanwhile, ‘accidentally’ got a waiter fired; it was supposed to be John Terry, but he found out about the prank, so they changed it.
David James outed himself as an unbearable tit on Rio’s World Cup Wind Ups twenty years ago. He hasn’t improved in any way since. #taskmaster
— Rob Hill (@robvanriot) December 29, 2024
Peter Crouch was fooled when he was offered an investment deal by an Indian businessman, only for some Russians, claiming to be his partners, before demanding money from Crouch. Wayne Rooney was visiting a dog’s home with his wife, Colleen, when a young boy’s dog died whilst they were there.
David James, who has long been considered to be an intellectual, was accused of breaking some artwork made by someone whilst visiting a gallery. Finally, David Beckham was picked up by a driver on his way to an important business meeting, only to get lost. Unsurprisingly, the series wasn’t renewed.