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When your older brother is the world's most expensive defender it must be difficult to avoid the inevitable comparisons, but the young Anton Ferdinand was determined to step out of Rio's shadow and carve a place for himself in the Premiership.

West Ham United manager Glenn Roeder offered him a professional contract at the age of 17, the same week in which his older brother completed his £30 million move to Manchester United. Ferdinand stepped into training, working alongside the likes of Paolo Di Canio and Frederic Kanoute, and after seeing huge improvements in his game over the previous six months, Roeder felt it was time for the youngster to make the step up to professional level and rewarded him with a three-year deal. Ferdinand, who could play centre-back or right-back became the latest product of West Ham's celebrated Youth Academy.

On 9 August 2003, at the start of their Nationwide Championship campaign at Deepdale, Ferdinand made his first-team debut in the 2-1 win against Preston North End. In the 2004/05 season under Alan Pardew, he cemented his first team place with several key performances, including scoring the opening goal on the final day as the Hammers beat Watford 2-1 as the Hammers booked a play-off spot and went on to beat Preston North End in the Millennium Stadium final, earning them promotion back into the Premier League after an absence of two years.

In the 2006 FA Cup Final against Liverpool in Cardiff, with the two sides locked at 3-3, Ferdinand fell to his knees in tears after missing the decisive penalty in the shootout. Although not on the scoresheet that often, one goal that always gives him great pleasure was scoring against his brother Rio on the 29 December 2007 in the Premier League 2-1 win against Manchester United at Upton Park.

The Academy of Football graduate played 163 times in Claret and Blue before signing for Sunderland on 27 August 2008. The 23-year-old signed for an undisclosed fee reported to be around £8 million, the Tyne and Wear club were managed by Roy Keane at the time. The Hammers accepted the bid after failing to reach agreement with the defender over a new long-term contract. However with the arrival of Steve Bruce as their new manager, he quickly fell out of favour and his first team opportunities became limited.

On 31 August 2011 Sunderland accepted a bid from Queen Park Rangers. With the west London side he made 44 league appearances before the Hoops released him in an effort to cut costs, having been relegated to the Championship.

Ferdinand had a short spell with Turkish side Antalyaspor before joining Reading for two seasons, then another couple for Southend United before seeing out his playing days with St Mirren north of the border.