Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand has opened up about dealing with the tragic loss of his wife, who passed away from cancer two years ago.
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The former England captain lost his wife, Rebecca, to breast cancer in 2015, the same year he hung up his boots as a professional footballer.
Ferdinand has revealed that he turned to alcohol after his wife's sad passing, but added that he was lucky to have people around him to motivate him to do the right things.
"At the beginning, I was drinking a lot at night time," he told Radio Times.
"We have a lady, luckily enough, who lives with us, she would go to bed and I'd come back down in the middle of the night and probably drink a lot for the first three or four months.
"But I would get up and do the school run and stuff.
"That's why a network of people around you is so important. And I was fortunate to have that and also having my kids as inspiration to make sure I get up and do things and try and make things work."
The former Red Devils star also admitted that he even began to understand why some people take their own lives.
"I used to look at people or read stories and think, 'How can you be so selfish and commit suicide, or attempt to commit suicide?' or whatever," he continued.
"But I can actually sympathise now because I understand that you get to places where you think, 'If I didn't have that network of people or my kids who I use as an inspiration to be able to get up and think straight...' I can understand that'."
Ferdinand has since become a BT Sport pundit in his retirement, and has interviewed the likes of Yaya Toure and boxing legend Floyd Mayweather.
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