On 12 January 2008, Ferdinand bagged a rare Premier League goal in a 6–0 hammering of Newcastle United at Old Trafford. In their FA Cup quarter-final match against Portsmouth on 8 March 2008 when Manchester United dominated, Ferdinand made a rare appearance as a goalkeeper, after Edwin van der Sar left the pitch with a groin injury and the replacement keeper, Tomasz Kuszczak, was sent off after conceding a penalty. Despite diving the right way, he was unable to save Sulley Muntari's spot kick, and Manchester United were eliminated from the FA Cup. On 6 April 2008, against Middlesbrough, Ferdinand limped out of the match due to a foot injury. He was rated doubtful whether he would face A.S. Roma in the UEFA Champions League quarter-final second leg on 9 April 2008. He would play the full 90 minutes, though he received three stitches at half-time.
After United's 2–1 loss to Chelsea in the Premier League in April 2008, Ferdinand swore at Chelsea stewards and tried to kick a wall in the tunnel, but instead kicked a female steward, Tracy Wray. Ferdinand claimed to have merely brushed her with his foot. He said he had apologised and sent the steward some flowers. However, Wray showed the bruise on her leg to the media, and her husband claimed that Ferdinand had not apologised or sent flowers.
It was announced on 18 April 2008 that, along with Michael Carrick and Wes Brown, Ferdinand had agreed to sign a new five-year contract, worth around £130,000 a week, that would keep him with United until 2013. On 21 May 2008, Ferdinand captained Manchester United to a Champions League Final victory versus Chelsea. He accepted the trophy together with Ryan Giggs, as Giggs was the on field captain for most of the matches during that season during Gary Neville's absence due to injury.
On 25 March 2008, it was announced that Ferdinand would wear the captain's armband for Fabio Capello's second game in charge of the national team, ahead of John Terry, Steven Gerrard or David Beckham, who some believed would be named captain to mark his 100th cap for his country. An FA statement suggested that the decision to name Ferdinand as captain was part of Capello's plans of rotating the captaincy before naming an official captain for September's World Cup qualifiers. On 19 August, however, Ferdinand lost out to Terry in retaining the captain's armband but was named vice-captain by Fabio Capello.
He made his first foray into the world of cinema in late 2008, financing and becoming an executive producer of Alex de Rakoff's film Dead Man Running. The film features Danny Dyer and 50 Cent in a gangster-themed plot. Ferdinand will share production credits with England teammate Ashley Cole.
In 2008, Ferdinand filmed a documentary about Peckham, aiming to persuade youngsters away from a life of crime.