Rio Ferdinand explained why he stopped talking to Frank Lampard in 2017 interview

Rio Ferdinand and Frank Lampard were both part of an England generation that failed to deliver on so much promise.

Since hanging up their boots, the players of that era, which also included the likes of Wayne Rooney, Paul Scholes and Steven Gerrard, have spoken about their inability to succeed on the international stage, despite the extraordinary level of talent.

A common theme to emerge from their stories is that they couldn’t get over the club rivalries that existed when they teamed up for international duty.

The situation is entirely different today. Gareth Southgate’s squad appear to enjoy going away together, and their cohesion has led to impressive performances in recent years. 

But in the 2000s, the rivalries that developed between Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea players led to cliques in the England squad and performances suffered as a result.

Back in 2017, Ferdinand spoke about this when he appeared on The NFL Show.

The former Man United centre-back was at West Ham’s youth academy with Lampard, but their friendship deteriorated when they both moved on to bigger clubs.

“We had a generation that was nicknamed the ‘Golden Generation’ of players, where expectations were huge for us as a national team to go out there and win something,” Ferdinand said.

“That there is probably what held us back. Not being able to separate our club ties to international ties.”

Lampard left West Ham for Chelsea in 2001, and their relationship became fractured when a year later Ferdinand signed for Man United.

Suddenly, the former friends found themselves competing for the same trophies.

“I wrote a chapter in my book, it was about Frank Lampard. We grew up together at West Ham and then we both went separate ways – I was at