'F***ing hell Rio!' Laura Woods turns air blue in unseen TNT Sports footage
Rio Ferdinand signed off 10 years with TNT Sports at Saturday's Champions League final in Munich but he got on the wrong side of presenter Laura Woods pre-match
Laura Woods dropped an F-bomb after Rio Ferdinand accidentally interrupted her preparation ahead of the Champions League final. Ferdinand's 10-year spell working as a pundit for TNT Sports, formerly known as BT Sport, came to an end on Saturday, having announced his departure in the week leading up to the final at the Allianz Arena in Munich.
The match saw Paris Saint-Germain thrash Inter Milan 5-0 to break a Champions League record. Before the game, presenter Woods was working on her introduction while they were still off air.
But she was left peeved off when Manchester United legend Ferdinand ambled across the camera. Woods, 37, shared the footage from pre-match on social media.
As Ferdinand walked right in front of the camera, she couldn't help but say: "F***ing hell Rio," before putting her microphone down and laughing to herself.
Woods joked: "That was going to be some of my best work ever," as Ferdinand walked back in front. The 81-time England international then took the microphone away from Woods, who was explaining that she was doing a practice take.
The pair were next heard sharing a laugh. Ferdinand continued by holding the mic to Woods' mouth before pulling it away. Realising that he was actually in shot, Ferdinand apologised to Woods.
At the end of TNT's coverage, Woods set Ferdinand up to say farewell. "Rio, before we leave, just one final goodbye," she began. "From us here at TNT Sport, to you. That is it for your career here, for now.
"Can I just say on behalf of all of us - including everyone behind the camera - you've been an absolute pleasure. And personally since I joined, you've been so incredibly welcoming. You'll be sorely, sorely missed."
Where does Rio Ferdinand rank among your favourite pundits? Have your say in the comments section.
Ferdinand responded by saying: "I just want to say thank you to everybody that I've worked with,. My job was made a lot easier by the great people and friends that I have worked with and will remain friends for many years.
"As important as the people you see on the screen are the people behind the screen that do all the jobs to get us here and enable us to put our best foot forward are all appreciated. Again, thank you to everybody who has been a part of it."
Ferdinand's colleague, Steven Gerrard, asked him if he going to have a cold beer, to which the 46-year-old replied: "All the beers are on me!"
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And you can see why, with Gyokeres possessing an superb record of 97 goals in 102 games since joining Sporting for a bargain £20.2m fee. A 2024-25 campaign that saw the Swede net 54 goals and add 13 assists in 52 games has meant Gyokeres' profile has risen exponentially, something that was particularly boosted by his Champions League form. On what was his first experience of the competition, Gyokeres scored six goals in eight games, included a superb hat-trick against Man City in November. His rise has been less serene than Sesko's, with the 26-year-old, whose birthday is next week, failing to make the grade at Brighton during a four-year spell that also saw him struggle on loan at Swansea. However, a flame was lit once he joined Coventry and 40 goals across two seasons as a permanent player earned Gyokeres a move to Sporting. Despite his incredible record, there are a few concerns surrounding Gyokeres, including the fact that he will be 27 at the start of next season, five years senior to Sesko. His struggles at Brighton, although they now seem irrelevant, do raise some questions given he has never played in a top five European league, something Sesko has done with the Bundesliga. Mail Sport has previously reported how this is a view echoed internally at Arsenal, with figures torn on whether the striker can hit the ground running in the Premier League. There is also the fact that 20 of his 54 goals this season were penalties, although given Gyokeres scored every spot kick, perhaps that is something to be viewed positively. He also struggled to assert himself during Sporting's 5-1 thrashing by Arsenal in the Champions League. Nevertheless, the Swede's international record is impressive, with Gyokeres having netted 15 times in 26 games in comparison to Sesko's 16 in 41 for Slovenia, although again the standard of their respective teams should be taken into account. Whatever they decide, it feels as if Arsenal will be getting a top quality striker this summer and one that they hope will take them to a trophy after more than five years. Both strikers have their qualities, with Gyokeres possessing an incredible goal record over the past two years. In fact, in 2024-25, the 26-year-old averaged a goal every 79 minutes and converted 56 per cent of his chances. This outperformed Sesko, whose goal-per-minute ratio is 156, while he has a conversation rate of 47.1 per cent. A caveat to that is the quality of their leagues and the fact Gyokeres had 3.9 shots per game compared to Sesko's 2.31. He also averaged 9.16 touches in the opposition box, almost three times that of the Slovenian's 3.29. Overall, it feels like although Sesko has a poorer goal record than his striking rival, the fact that he is proven in a major European league and on an upward curve is extremely appealing. Arsenal have also done plenty of due diligence on him as a target and they have been tracking the 21-year-old for a long-time. The Gunners have plenty of money to spend this summer and although Sesko is likely to be more expensive than Gyokeres, his physicality, age and potential mean Mail Sport favours him narrowly as the better option.
