Rio Ferdinand Presents

This is Thierry Henry as you rarely hear him - brutally honest, analytical and still completely obsessed with competition, winning and perfection at the highest level of football.

Henry visits Rio at his Airbnb in LA and opens up on the mentality behind his legendary career, including the coach at Clairefontaine who completely changed his understanding of how he moved on the pitch and why he genuinely preferred creating goals over scoring them himself - even if people never believe him.

There’s some extraordinary insight into Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, with Henry explaining why Messi’s work ethic is hugely underrated, how quickly he justified the total freedom given to him by manager Pep Guardiola and why football should stop trying to compare the two greatest players of their generation. He also shares brilliant stories around Messi’s mentality, aura inside the dressing room and how he developed into a killer from set-pieces.

The conversation dives into the modern game too, with Henry arguing football has become too robotic and explaining why players like Lamine Yamal, Michael Olise and Rayan Cherki stand out because they still take risks and play with freedom. There’s also special praise for Cherki’s dribbling ability whilst pointing out that if the Man City forward develops his mentality off the ball he could become unstoppable.

There’s huge praise too for Harry Kane, Julian Alvarez and Bruno Fernandes, with Henry defending Bruno’s mentality before Henry also discusses France’s World Cup chances, Ousmane Dembélé’s evolution into a winning player and why England genuinely could have won the 2002 World Cup if they had beaten Brazil. Brought to you in partnership with Airbnb #ad
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Following England’s opening victory over Croatia, Rio is full of praise for the way Thomas Tuchel set up and managed the team after they scored 4 goals and created many more opportunities.

After watching the match in his Airbnb with Joel Beya and Ste Howson - Rio praises the performances of Jude Bellingham, Marcus Rashford and Elliot Anderson.

There were some concerns about the defence who were put under pressure numerous times but Rio explains why John Stones challenge of switching sides as a centre-back is such a difficult one to overcome.

Harry Kane joins the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland and Lionel Messi who all scored at least two goals in their opening fixture which prompts a debate around the effectiveness of Cristiano Ronaldo after he drew a blank for Portugal against DR Congo.

According to Rio - England’s squad depth could be a hugely decisive factor in their journey through the tournament and suggests only France can compete with the attacking prowess on the bench that Tuchel has at his disposal

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Rio invites his old team mate Robbie Keane to his Airbnb to discuss the big-name strikers who have started so impressively at the World Cup.

With Mbappe and Haaland scoring braces and Messi going one better with a hat-trick - Keane declares this as a tournament that Kylian Mbappe can “take hold” of before debating whether Haaland or Zlatan is the better player.

Keane praises former team-mate Luka Modric and warns England about his playmaking abilities coming to the fore in the heat of the United States and also gives some brilliant insight into the mentality of Tuchel’s captain Harry Kane after he worked with Kane as a youngster at Tottenham.

Rio gives his advice to the players who are in line to make their tournament debut for the Three Lions and discusses the BBQ he threw for the famous names of Beverly Hills who pitched up to the Airbnb to enjoy their evening overlooking the Los Angeles sunset.#worldcup2026

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This is Kaká as you rarely see or hear him - one of football’s most private superstars sitting down in Rio's Airbnb for a remarkably open reflection on a career that made him a global icon and one of the last true Ballon d’Or winning number 10s.

The Brazilian legend opens up about the swimming pool accident that nearly ended his journey before it had even begun and why his faith became even stronger after what doctors described as a “miracle” recovery.

Despite becoming one of the biggest stars in world football, Kaká remains remarkably humble throughout this conversation - discussing how his family kept him grounded and why his mentality was completely different to Cristiano Ronaldo’s obsession with becoming “the best”.

He also gives rare insight into the legendary AC Milan dressing room under Carlo Ancelotti, including how Pirlo, Gattuso and Seedorf helped shape him into a Ballon d’Or winner and why Pirlo could “find him anywhere” on the pitch.

The conversation leads into a fascinating discussion around the disappearance of classic number 10s in modern football, with Kaká explaining why the game no longer creates enough space for maverick players to thrive. He names Cole Palmer as his favourite English player to watch because of the freedom and simplicity in his game, while also revealing that Lamine Yamal and Neymar still excite him in a way most modern footballers don’t.

There are also brilliant stories around Ronaldo, Neymar and Brazil’s dressing room culture - while Kaká explains why Ancelotti is the perfect manager to lead Brazil into the World Cup and why players instantly trust his leadership.

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Rio has landed in Los Angeles and invites Joel and Ste over to his Beverly Hills Airbnb for the first pod in the US where they look ahead to the tournament, analyse the dilemmas facing Thomas Tuchel and pick their favourites to win the World Cup.

Rio discusses why he believes Harry Kane is the best striker in the world based on current form, what Bukayo Saka needs to add to his game to be considered on the same level as Vinicius Jr.

After spending time with Tuchel, Rio outlines why he “loves” the German and picks out one player left at home that he disagrees with.

There’s a big debate around how Portugal’s manager Roberto Martinez should utilise the presence and ability of Cristiano Ronaldo throughout the tournament and Rio picks his “unbeatable” front 4 that he wishes Didier Deschamps would select for France.

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