Manchester United's Rio Ferdinand has signed a three-year deal to be an interviewer, programme-maker and football expert for BT Sport.

Ferdinand, 34, who has played 81 times for England, will make football and lifestyle programmes and conduct big-name interviews as he does for his #5 magazine. He will also act as a BT Sport football expert and will join BT Sport from August 2013.

The United centre-half, who was last week named in the PFA Team of the Year 2012-13 in a poll of his fellow professionals, will also act as a BT Ambassador alongside the Tottenham forward and PFA Player of the Year Gareth Bale and the England winger Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

Ferdinand tweeted that he was not about to step down from the day job at United. "Do not mention the word retirement on my timeline please people … that word is not welcome here!" he said.

"I'm really excited about joining BT Sport. I will be doing a lot more than sitting on a sofa working as a football expert. I am going to be able to make programmes for BT Sport, not just about football but also about other things that I am passionate about.