Les Ferdinand has revealed a conversation with Kevin Keegan led to him becoming a qualified helicopter pilot.
The former England striker and Premier League icon was quizzed by Gary Neville about his licence on the Stick to Football Podcast, brought to you by Sky Bet.
Ferdinand confirmed he has passed his test while at Tottenham, leading to Roy Keane joking ‘Is that to get out of Spurs quickly?’.
The 57-year-old revealed that the inspiration for becoming a helicopter pilot came after he signed for Newcastle in 1995, after speaking to manager Kevin Keegan.
‘When I was at Newcastle, Keegan had put something out and said to me you’re coming into a goldfish bowl, in terms of London you can get lost but you can’t do nothing up here,’ Ferdinand said.
Les Ferdinand, pictured in 2006, has revealed how he became a licenced helicopter pilot
Ferdinand told the Stick to Football podcast a conversation with Kevin Keegan after he signed for Newcastle led to him pursuing a helicopter licence
‘So he said what’s three things you want to do. I said ‘I want to learn how to play saxophone, learn how to cook and learn how to ride a motorbike’.
‘He said to me, “I can let you do two of them, but the third one I can’t let you do”.
‘I said “f***ing hell”. He said there was a place in Newcastle that built him a Harley and he said ‘I’ll let you pass your test if you ride the Harley back to my house’, so I said alright no problem.
‘Someone in Newcastle had built it for him, he couldn’t ride it but he was just going to showcase it.’
Ferdinand revealed that he was then approached to fly a helicopter after Keegan had included it on a programme of potential activities.
‘At first I was like nah not really, but then he goes come and have a look and it just got into my head,’ Ferdinand added.
‘To be fair the first time I went up I went ‘f*** I’m not sure I like this’ and then the geezer said ‘where do you live?’ And I said just over there.
Ferdinand became a qualified helicopter pilot during his time playing for Tottenham
‘He goes ‘let’s have a look at your house’ and as soon as I saw my house that was it, it changed my perception of everything.’
Ferdinand previously said it had taken him between 18 months to two years to pass his test after undergoing seven exams.
The former forward once admitted he had used his helicopter to commute to Bolton, flying to Lancashire on the Tuesday before returning home after matches on the weekend.
Speaking to the Football Ramble in 2022, the former England forward admitted he had only ever flown to training once during his career on the instruction of manager Steve Coppell when he played at Reading.
‘It used to take me 45 minutes to an hour to get from my house to Reading, it took me 12 minutes in my helicopter,’ Ferdinand said.
‘He said ‘wait until I bring the boys out and then you can fly in’ so as they were coming out, I flew in.
The 57-year-old last year stepped down as director of football at QPR after eight years
‘I remember Lloyd Owusu, more than anyone, couldn’t believe it.
‘That was the only time I brought it into training because the manager told me to as it would be a bit of fun.’
Ferdinand is ranked 12th on the Premier League’s all time goalscoring charts after netting 149 times in 351 appearances.
He enjoyed impressive spells in the top flight at QPR, Newcastle and Tottenham, before moves to West Ham United, Leicester, Bolton, Reading and Watford in the latter part of his career.
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