Cheeky telly pundit Rio Ferdinand secretly swiped a spoon belonging to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin.
The Manchester United legend pinched Mad Vlad’s cutlery as a souvenir on a visit to the Kremlin during the 2018 World Cup. Rio’s light-fingered lark has been revealed by his pal Alex Scott, who was on the BBC commentary team with him at the tournament.
Alex, 38, said: “As part of the FIFA Legends programme, Rio Ferdinand and I had been invited to the Kremlin to discuss the World Cup.
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“Rio made me laugh on the way out – he opened his hand to reveal he’d nicked a teaspoon as a memento.”
Alex admitted in her new book How (Not) To Be Strong that she didn’t feel welcome at the Kremlin because she was female.
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(Image: PA Archive)
She explained: “I was the only woman in the room – which, behind the scenes, I think had caused some anger because of the politics involved in sitting with certain world leaders.
“But I was there to discuss football. I even learned a sentence in Russian, which I attempted and failed, but God loves a trier!
“The whole morning was utterly surreal. We snapped pictures with Putin, but I was scared to even eat the tea and cake in front of me in case I unwittingly broke some unspoken diplomatic convention.”
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