Rio Ferdinand stunned staff and customers at The Grill Steakhouse in Aylesbury when he met unannounced for dinner yesterday (October 7).

Ferdinand had been in the Bucks area on a business trip and was whipped after finishing a meeting nearby around noon.

The former Champions League champion has launched a number of business moves since hanging up his boots.

After retiring in the summer of 2015, the 42-year-old has been in front of magazine, film productions and gymnastics group projects.

Grill Steakhouse owner Usman Majid said: “I think he just came here on a whim really. I would love to say he had been told by a spouse to come here, or knew about us, but I think he just really wanted a steak.

“He said, however, that it was the best steak he had had in ages.”

Rio tucked in a medium rare fillet steak and ordered a coke, Usman wondered if it might be the previous world-class cheat day.

Usman said: “He just went in, he did not have a reservation. He had had a meeting in and around Aylesbury and he was hungry.

“He was a really nice guy, he took pictures with people, he was really humble and down to earth.”