Rio Ferdinand says Mason Greenwood and Phil Foden need to understand their responsibilities after their breach of quarantine whilst on England duty. Ferdinand took a sympathetic view of young players getting into trouble due to the fact they are learning about their responsibilities. The Manchester United and Manchester City starlets made their England debuts against Iceland earlier this month but were sent home in disgrace after breaking quarantine rules at the team hotel.
Rio Ferdinand said “Understanding your responsibilities is very difficult so I can really sympathize with the likes of Phil Foden and Mason Greenwood.I made many mistakes as a young player growing up, you don’t understand you’re in the spotlight, you’re sitting there looking across the table at your mates thinking they’re the same age and doing worse than you are. Understand that, when you’re with England, when you’re in these big teams, the spotlight is on you. You’ve got to get that realization that, actually, you can’t do things like other people of your age who aren’t in the spotlight at the level you’re at. You can’t sit here and cane them and hammer them, say they’re out of order and should be banned for five squads or whatever, help them. Help them understand. What 18-year-old isn’t going to make a mistake? It’s just that they’re in the spotlight. All the people on social media, pundits and people in the media saying they should be punished and this and that: no. Help them.”
Ferdinand has a mentoring role where he teaches young players about dealing with the spotlight and the responsibilities expected of them. He says it is vital that Foden and Greenwood have the right people around them at the moment.
Rio Ferdinand said “They’ve been put in the spotlight. They’ve been on the front pages now as well as the back pages early in their career. It’s important they’ve got the right people around them at this stage of their career. To be honest with you, that’s why I took up a mentoring role. Helping these young players, preparing them for these situations, because I’ve been through that, I’ve seen it, I’ve made mistakes. I didn’t get sent home but I got banned from playing a game for making a mistake. I was in a situation where I got into a fracas with a security guard when on duty with England, it got into the paper and the public domain. You do feel the world’s caving in on you but it’s about learning from those mistakes. It’s not as serious as people are making you feel but, importantly now, acknowledge your mistake. Hold your hands up and now it’s about moving on and moving forward, really understanding the responsibilities you have. Whether you like it or not, you have bigger responsibilities than other 18-year-olds.”
