The judge heard that Ferdinand had gone on record in 2006 boasting about how he had cleaned up his life. It was noted that prior to 2006 Ferdinand had ‘something of a wild reputation’, but in January of that year featured in a News of the World interview portraying him as a reformed character.

The player vowed not to cheat on his partner Miss Ellison, and repeated the theme in his autobiography and other interviews, the court heard.

But his action to protect his image backfired when the court heard in June that he had alleged affairs with ten other women.
Mirror Group newspapers’ barrister Gavin Millar told the court Ferdinand’s case was all about ‘the effect of the 2010 Sunday Mirror article on the public image he has so painstakingly constructed for himself’.

He added: ‘He has misled the public over a period of years. His skilful self-publicising since 2006 painting himself as now a role model for the young, a faithful partner and devoted father, has brought admiration and public respect. But this was not the truth and the admiration was not deserved as the article demonstrates.’

Ferdinand claimed he had not seen Miss Storey for six years when the story appeared, and that the article was ‘a gross invasion of my privacy’.

But Judge Nicol dismissed his case and said: ‘The balancing exercise favours the defendant’s right of freedom of expression over the claimant’s right of privacy.’

‘[The England captaincy] was a job that carried with it an expectation of high standards. In the views of many the captain was expected to maintain those standards off, as well as on, the pitch.’

He rejected an application from the footballer’s lawyer for an immediate appeal, saying it had no prospect of success. Ferdinand now faces paying his own and the Sunday Mirror’s costs, totalling £500,000.

Last night his law firm, Simons Muirhead and Burton, said it would be going to the Court of Appeal to challenge the judgment, and added: ‘It is our view that these are clearly private matters that ought never to have been published.’

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