Rio Ferdinand speaks about Wayne Rooney's condition at Man Utd's pre-season | OneFootball

Rio Ferdinand has given an insight to pre-season during his time in the Premier League and has even given away a surprise detail about Wayne Rooney.

Play Video

Premier League clubs are back in training for pre-season this week, and fans are eagerly waiting for their team to step onto a pitch for the first time in months. While there is no football on to keep fans entertained, many will wonder exactly what all their heroes actually get up to during their break.

Is there a lot of partying? Is it all about relaxing and switching off from the intensity of the Premier League?

Well, Ferdinand has given an answer to these questions from his time as a player.

What is the off-season like for Premier League football players?

Speaking on his YouTube show 'FIVE', the former England captain kicked off by saying: "You have to have that time off because it's intense."

Explaining the rigors of top flight football, he added: "You're getting yourself charged up for the weekend, it's a rollercoaster of emotions, so you've got to have a time when you take the plug out of the socket and let your hair down."

A league season typically spans from August to May, or even as late as June for the teams competing in the FA Cup and Champions League finals, that's the best part of 10 months of constant training and playing matches.

It is only fair really that the players enjoy themselves while they get the chance. Rio's solution to this was: "Straight to Ayia Napa the day after the season finished," which shows there is definitely a party element for some players at least.

Even name-dropping a few former players that would also head to the same venue, Ferdinand continued: "Collymore, Redknapp, Andy Cole, Nicky Butt; all them boys were out there."

He did also go into detail about press coverage and the importance of players being careful when enjoying themselves on holiday.

How did Wayne Rooney turn up to pre-season training?

When all the relaxing and/or partying came to a close, Ferdinand claimed he was: "Always scared of going back unfit. Where my mum lived, there was a park and I would just go and run in that park most mornings."

This shows a dedication to be at the best possible condition for when all the real hard work starts in pre-season with the team. Not all players shared that mentality as he explained: "I saw too many players come back in, and you could sense the worry and the fear."

Ferdinand said: "Wazza would come back, and you'd go: 'Oh you've had a holiday'."

Having named a few more players in a similar boat, he explained: "Their fitness would just drop off because they don't do anything."

Showing up to pre-season unfit is one thing, being able to get back to peak condition in time for the football to start back up is impressive.

Claiming he: "Didn't want to be that guy," he urged young players to always have a brief period of exercise before the real pre-season with their team.