Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand captained the club to victory in the 2008 Champions League final against Chelsea, but it also came with regret as the club didn’t really celebrate.
The Red Devils won Chelsea on penalties. Ferdinand recalls the rainy night in Moscow: “We didn’t have a specific list of who would kick and how many. We had to shoot penalties and the coach asked who wanted to do it. I remember very well Patrice Evra saying: ‘ I don’t want to’.”

Ferdinand used to win many glory with MU
“I kicked behind Giggsy. The closer I got to that point, the more my legs got stuck. I really don’t know how I could go from half-court to the penalty spot without crawling. It was a big occasion and I let it affect me too much.“
Ferdinand is the only Man United player to start more than 50 games in all competitions during the season, with the Champions League final being his 51st. Captain Gary Neville was also sidelined with injury for most of the season, so Ferdinand regularly wore the armband.
Thanh Vu | 18:38 May 16, 2023