Sponsors may dump banned Ferdinand

A LEADING sports lawyer has claimed that Rio Ferdinand faces the loss of several key sponsors as a result of his eight-month drugs ban.

The Manchester United defender has key deals with sportswear giant Nike and top clothing brand Ben Sherman.

Nike have previously stated their intention to stand by the stg£29.3million star but Mel Goldberg feels sponsors will now be looking closely at the small print of their contracts with the player following Ferdinand's failure to take a drug test.