Model Tslil Sela claims to have had a fling with Rio Ferdinand during his stag week in Tel Aviv last June
He was supposed to be the man to draw a line under the sordid John Terry affair.
Rio Ferdinand replaced Terry as England captain last week following strenuous attempts to improve his disreputable image.
So coach Fabio Capello will not be overjoyed to learn that an Israeli model claims to have dallied with 31-year-old Ferdinand during his stag week in Tel Aviv last June.
Offers of more than £20,000 were being sought for 22-year-old Tslil Sela's account of the time she spent with the Manchester United star just before he married his long-term partner. She has told friends that she was with him while Rebecca Ellison was at home in Britain with their baby son and their two-year-old boy two weeks before the wedding.
Miss Sela's modelling agent in Tel Aviv, named Roberto, was hawking around her story yesterday and insisting that it involved 'more just a one-night stand'.
He said: 'You know exactly what I'm offering. Something that will make big news in England. I know the story, and
you know the story. It's the story of the girl, but you need to pay.'
The episode heaps fresh embarrassment on the England squad after Terry was stripped of the captaincy in disgrace following his extramarital affair with team-mate Wayne Bridge's ex-girlfriend Vanessa Perroncel.
To make matters worse, fellow England star Ashley Cole is facing claims by a glamour model that she was sent raunchy messages from his phone including naked pictures of him.
Ferdinand's advisers have worked hard to transform his wild reputation in the years after he was banned for missing a drugs test, convicted of drink driving and filmed himself having group sex in Cyprus.
Rio Ferdinand parties at the Galina nightclub in Tel Aviv while on his stag week
He recently relaunched his charity the Rio Ferdinand Live the Dream Foundation, which aims to 'educate and guide young people', and he is a patron of the Prince's Trust.
Only yesterday, a press release promoting Ferdinand's role in a movie called Dead Man Running called him a 'role model' and quoted him as saying: 'You've got to use your position to say something. I still believe to this day if I hadn't been a footballer, I'd have been a youth worker.'
Ferdinand and his wife Rebecca, who wed last year and have two children together
But yesterday the player's morals were under question once again as details emerged of his stag week in Tel Aviv. During visits to numerous clubs, he was apparently spotted 'dirty dancing' with Miss Sela at the Clara nightspot.
A witness recalled: 'They were dancing together, and it was "hot" dancing, not the normal type. They were having a great time together. Afterwards, Tslil was very embarrassed and denied even being with Rio Ferdinand, even though everyone had seen her with him.'
One friend claimed to the Mail: 'Rio was rude, vulgar and crass at the nightclub. He spotted a beautiful young university student and told her, "I will give you anything you want". He went back to the Intercontinental Hotel with her and two other men. She was desperate her family didn't find out.'
Yesterday friends said Miss Sela was 'in shock' at discovering Ferdinand had been only two weeks away from marrying his partner of seven years.
One said: 'She had no idea he was on his stag week. She's really not that kind of girl.'
Last night, Miss Sela refused to answer the door of the £300,000 three-bedroom apartment she shares with her parents - both high-flying academics - in a middle-class suburb of Tel Aviv.
Asked about any relationship with Ferdinand, she said: 'I would let you in but I don't have permission from my agent. My agent just told me he wants to close this story with you. Contact Roberto so we could help.'
Miss Sela is a psychology student and an aspiring model. She has posed in seductive swimwear and underwear for magazine photoshoots. In some pictures, she is made up to look like a Twenties siren.
She has also been a recent contestant on a brash Israeli reality TV show called The Models - where she gained a reputation for annoying all the other contestants but still made the final.
Her 'fan page' on the social networking site Facebook describes her as 'the face of an angel and a big mouth' and 'sweet like the girl next door'.
Ferdinand, centre, parties with friends at Clara Club in Tel Aviv last June, when Miss Sela claims to have met him
Ferdinand pictured with John Terry, whom he replaced as England captain after revelations of Terry's affair
Miss Sela's father Joseph heads a charity for children at risk. Her mother is an inspector at the Israeli ministry of education.
Ferdinand - whose football agent Pini Zahavi is from Israel - says he loves the country and he has been there on holiday at least six times. He has been repeatedly photographed in Tel Aviv nightclubs surrounded by girls.
Last night his spokesman initially declined to comment, but later rang back and said: 'Rio says it's not true.'
