John Terry will leave Chelsea FC at the end of this campaign. The player revealed the news himself after the club’s defeat of MK Dons.
This season will truly mark the end of an era after John Terry announced that his Chelsea contract would not be renewed. He will not retire, though. The veteran has been a Chelsea player all his life but he is keen to finish his career off somewhere else.
The veteran was summoned to discuss his future before last week’s Arsenal game and was told by Stamford Bridge officials that they would not offer him an extension. Here is what Terry had to say.
"It’s not going to be a fairytale ending, I’m not going to retire at Chelsea. It’s going to be elsewhere which it took me a couple of days to get over…I want to give everything and finish on a high, on 100 per cent good terms with the club…No player is ever bigger than the club. Ideally I would have loved to stay, but the club’s moving in a different direction…It’s going to be my last year and I want to go out at the top. – via The Mirror"
Terry was the only player remaining from the core group that defined Chelsea’s rise to prominence. Alongside Frank Lampard, Petr Cech and Didier Drogba, the four greats carried the Blues to success after success. Come the start of the 2016/17 season, there will be no playing presence from any of these legends.
Somewhat concerningly, Terry has made it clear that the brass were the ones unwilling to maintain this marriage. The 35-year-old is not retiring and he will seek employment elsewhere come the summer.
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The issue is that many have stated that this team has lacked experience given the departures of Didier Drogba and Petr Cech last year. Now, there will be no evident Blues-bred leader on the team for the next campaign. But let’s leave the moaning for another article.
Terry has been hugely successful with Chelsea, winning four Premier League titles, five FA Cups, three League Cups, one Europa League and a Champions League during his tenure. He will leave behind a legacy of one of the greatest players to ever don a blue shirt.
However, given the professional that he is, he will be firmly focused on salvaging this season. Chelsea have been on a roll since Guus Hiddink took over and have genuine chances of winning the Champions League and FA Cup. Terry may claim that there will be no fairytale ending, but departing with a second Champions League medal is arguably the closest that you can get.
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Meanwhile, it will be interesting to see Chelsea’s moves in the summer transfer window as they try to replace what will be a gaping hole.