Rio Ferdinand says he is surprised at Nicolas Anelka's claim that his missed penalty in the 2008 Champions League final killed his career at Chelsea.
The French striker took the final penalty in the shootout against Manchester United in Moscow but saw his spot-kick saved by Edwin van der Sar, giving United a 6-5 shootout victory.
Anelka had been brought on by Avram Grant to replace Joe Cole in the 99th minute of the game, despite having only joined the Blues from Bolton Wanderers in January of that year.
He stayed with Chelsea until 2012, scoring 38 league goals in 125 appearances for the Blues.
Yet, in a new Netflix documentary, the 41-year-old said the missed spot-kick cast a shadow over his time at Stamford Bridge.
He said: "That missed penalty killed my career at Chelsea.
"I felt like a traitor being there, I'd only come mid-season, I had no business being on the field."
Speaking on BT Sport, Ferdinand, who was playing for United that day and was due to take the next penalty until Anelka's miss, said he was surprised by the comments.
The former England defender argued that, being part of a squad, Anelka should have been anticipating to take a penalty in such a tight game.
He said: "That's quite damning that, isn't it?
"At the end of the day, you're there as part of a team.
"We've seen goalkeepers brought on in World Cups just to be part of the penalty shootout.
"It's part of it, a penalty shootout at that stage.
"He would have been well aware of the opportunity for him to become a hero."
