Rio Ferdinand believes Chelsea defender Antonio Rudiger will regret the way he reacted to Chelsea's Champions League elimination at the hands of Real Madrid.
The Blues lost the first leg 3-1 at Stamford Bridge, but raced into a 3-0 lead at the Bernabeu before Rodrygo took the tie to extra-time. Karim Benzema would then send the Spanish side through after a slip from Rudiger, and the German international failed to hide his frustration after the final whistle.
Rudiger insisted Chelsea could hold their heads up high despite defeat. However, former England defender Ferdinand believes his initial response - when he pushed away opponent David Alaba - could prompt some regrets.
"It’s emotional, man. And I don’t think he’d necessarily want to react like that or see those pictures, but the feeling there, you can’t control it," Ferdinand said on BT Sport. "We’ve all been there after big games, I’ve said and done things that you regret, you think: “that’s not me, that’s not my normal personality”. But this is what football means to people."
Rudiger is out of contract in the summer, with Barcelona among the clubs linked with a move, but he now knows he won't leave Chelsea as a two-time European champion if he does move on this summer. And, while Ferdinand recognises emotions may have taken over for the former Roma defender, he was by no means critical.
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"If you see changing rooms after games… imagine that changing room there. There will be things going flying," Ferdinand continued. "I hit walls, I ended up kicking people at times! I got done at Chelsea kicking someone by accident, you don’t mean it you just lose your head, you don’t mean anything by it.
"But I like to see that because that’s the emotion, there’s a care and a desire to win and they know what it means and how close they were."
Benzema's extra-time effort took him up to 12 goals in this season's competition, just one behind Robert Lewandowski. The Bayern Munich striker found the net for his team against Villarreal, but a late Samuel Chukwueze goal at the Allianz Arena sent the Spanish team through 2-1 on aggregate.
Real Madrid will take on the winner of Atletico Madrid and Manchester City in their semi-final. The English club hold a 1-0 advantage after the first leg in Manchester thanks to a Kevin De Bruyne goal.
The second semi-final will see Villarreal up against the winners of the Liverpool v Benfica tie, where Jurgen Klopp's side won 3-1 at the Estadio da Luz. The first legs of the semi-finals are due to take place on April 26-27, with the return games one week later.
