Rio Ferdinand has been living in Dubai with his wife Kate and their three young children, but the England legend’s other half has admitted she is missing the UK
Rio Ferdinand and his wife Kate have been living in Dubai for around six months(Image: Instagram/xkateferdinand)
Rio Ferdinand may be hesitant to abandon life in Dubai, despite his wife Kate’s yearning for home.
Ferdinand, 47, relocated himself and part of his family to the United Arab Emirates city shortly after his punditry position at TNT Sports concluded. The ex-Manchester United hero has subsequently purchased a £6million property in the low-tax, high-compliance territory and also made numerous financial investments in the UAE.
Nevertheless, not everything is proceeding 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 transition with their Cree, 5, and daughter Shae, 2, alongside the former defender’s daughter Tia, 14, from his first marriage with Ellison.
His two eldest sons Lorenz, 19, and Tate, 17, chose to remain in the UK as both are currently progressing through the ranks at Brighton and Hove Albion. Lorenz recently penned his first professional contract with the Seagulls last summer, whilst Tate is in the U21s squad.
Speaking on her Blended podcast, Kate became emotional after confessing she has “struggled” with living apart from the duo, alongside 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.”
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Given Lorenz and Tate’s footballing promise, they won’t be heading to Dubai in the near future. However, it also seems unlikely Ferdinand will be returning to the UK, as reported by the Daily Mail.
In a recent interview with The National, Ferdinand praised the education system in Dubai. He stated: “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.
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“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.”
Ferdinand has also confessed he’s relishing stepping away from football, pointing to the gruelling sporting schedule that dominated his existence both as a player and pundit. Additionally, the former England skipper has also backed the Middle Eastern sports platform Koora Break, which is drawing roughly 800million users monthly.
“Everyone was saying, ‘Well what are you doing?’ It’s just a fast growing place,” he told Bloomberg TV in November, when questioned about his stake 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 varied business ventures, the likelihood of him returning to Britain appears increasingly remote. There’s also the taxation benefits of residing in the Middle Eastern metropolis, which has emerged as a magnet for social media stars, tech innovators and digital nomads.
With his relocation to Dubai also following the tax hikes on enterprises in Britain, alongside increases in capital gains tax, inheritance tax and VAT on independent schools, Ferdinand acknowledged he’s doubtful about how tax income 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.
“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.”
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