Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand is ready to hire a butler to help him handle his family life.

The Daily Star Sunday says until now the Man United star hasn't even employed a nanny, preferring to share the duty of bringing up his three youngsters with wife Rebecca.

But England's 32-year old vice-captain is feeling more and more stretched with his time since the arrival of third nipper Tia four months ago.

Since she was born, hands-on dad Rio - who away from football has business interests including a thriving restaurant - has battled to pull off a delicate balancing act to keep everyone happy.

Now he's decided the time could be right to bring in help to oversee and manage his domestic workload at his £5million Cheshire mansion, so he and Rebecca, 31, can spend as much time with the children as possible.