Late wife Rebecca’s cancer battle flattened football star Rio Ferdinand

Rio Ferdinand with first wife Rebecca

England football star Rio Ferdinand has revealed that passing away of his first wife Rebecca affected him so badly that he initially shied away from helping others suffering from cancer.

Ferdinand, 44, lost partner Rebecca Ellison to breast cancer in 2015, and she left behind three children.

Recently, Ferdinand got emotional to see Sebastien Haller, who had testicular cancer, play for Borussia Dortmund against Chelsea after recovering from his own battle.

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Speaking on BT Sport, Ferdinand said Rebecca's death hit him hard. "That was a moving segment, his [Haller's] family have been a huge support to him. Seeing how he looked so ill and thinking will he come back, and he's now actually playing. It's phenomenal. The narrative that he's pushing is fabulous, even to get us guys speaking before we get on about ‘have you checked?' I want to start going on and doing that. I've hid away from doing anything like that because of my own personal story," said Ferdinand.