Tottenham v Man United: Is Rio Ferdinand back as pundit for TNT Sports at Europa League final?

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The Independent

·21 May 2025

Tottenham v Man United: Is Rio Ferdinand back as pundit for TNT Sports at Europa League final?

Rio Ferdinand is poised to return as a pundit for TNT Sport’s coverage of Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester United in the Europa League final in Bilbao after recovering from illness.

Ferdinand is back working for the broadcaster after a health scare saw him miss punditry duties at Old Trafford for the second leg of the semi-final against Athletic.

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The former United defender revealed that he “thought the lights were out” at one point and that it was a “crazy” experience.

But after recovering from what he described as a “virus,” Ferdinand confirmed he is travelling to the Basque Country to cover his former side in action at the San Mames.

He wrote on social media on Tuesday: “Bilbao Bound. LETS GOOOOOOOOOOOOOO YANITED YANITED.”

Speaking on Rio Ferdinand Presents, days after being released from hospital, he said: "I thought the lights were out at some point, I thought it was gonna happen. I thought I was minutes away from lights out, seriously. I was in my house, I was in my bed like this [pained expression] and I couldn't even open my eyes.

"Then, the headache I had… I don't get migraines or nothing else so I don't know what they're like. I thought my head was in a vice and my eyes were going to pop out.

"Then, I was being sick, projectile vomiting in the toilet, I got back to bed and I was having vertigo. I was holding onto the sheets, I didn't know where I was. It was crazy.

"I had to go to hospital and the doctor even said to me, ‘Do you want an ambulance?’ So that's when I knew. He went, 'We're going to get your brain scanned'. I thought it was a virus or a flu or something so when he mentioned brain scan and the ambulance, the panic was nuts.