Married England footballer Rio Ferdinand’s attempts to suppress details of a long-term affair were crushed in the High Court yesterday – leaving him with a £500,000 bill.

In a landmark victory for press freedom, a judge ruled that banning publication would not be in the public interest.

Mr Justice Nicol said that Ferdinand, a former England captain, had a duty  to maintain high standards ‘on and off the field’.

The article claimed that Rio Ferdinand (pictured with his wife Rebecca Ellison) ended the relationship with Carly Storey within days of being handed the England skipper's armband in February 2010

But he has instead been left with a legal bill in the region of £500,000.

The judge ruled that the Sunday Mirror – the newspaper which printed the story of the affair – had a right to freedom of expression which outweighed Ferdinand’s right to keep his sex life private.

He said: ‘At one level it was a “kiss and tell” story. Even less attractively, it was a “kiss and paid for telling” story, but stories may be in the public interest even if the reasons behind the informant providing the information are less than noble.’

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