John Terry has led the Blues for over 500 of the 700+ games he has played for Chelsea FC. He may be about to follow some of his former teammates and fellow legends to the Chinese Super League.
Many Chelsea FC fans feared that they had seen the last of John Terry after he was sent off for his second yellow against Sunderland last Saturday. Those concerns took a major step toward realization yesterday as several sources reported that Terry is on the brink of a £12 million per year deal with one of three teams in the Chinese Super League.
The Sun reports that several Super League coaches with ties to Terry – former Chelsea manager Phil Scolari, now at Guangzhou Evergrande, and former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson (currently at Shanghai SIPG) are actively courting the Chelsea veteran. Also eyeing Terry is former Blue Dan Petrescu at Jiangsu Suning. Terry would also be joining ex-teammates Demba Ba and Ramires in China; and following in the footsteps of his fellow Captain, Leader, Legend, Didier Drogba.
Chelsea management informed the defender midway through the season not to expect a contract renewal that would allow him to retire from the only club he has ever known. In addition to those predicting a move east, many observers thought Terry would join Drogba, Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard in Major League Soccer.
Those rumors were effectively eliminated last week when MLS announced that Terry would not receive Designated Player status. Given MLS’s salary caps, this would limit Terry’s earnings to approximately 20% of what he makes at Chelsea. Terry’s former backline partner at Stamford Bridge, Ashley Cole, currently plays for the LA Galaxy as a non-Designated Player. Cole accepted a significant pay cut to join the Galaxy as the Designated Player slots there are occupied by Gerrard and Robbie Keane.
Few anticipate Antonio Conte will keep John Terry on the squad given the 35-year old’s lack of pace and the expectation that Conte will bring Leonardo Bonucci in from Juventus. Between Bonucci and the returning Kurt Zouma, Conte will have several options for an explosive center-back in either of his 3-5-2 or 4-4-2 formations.
Terry’s greatest remaining contributions to the club would be as a mentor and training ground leader, particularly for the young defenders and prospective captains. Even Terry’s center-back partner Gary Cahill, who has been promoted to vice captain for England, still has much to learn from him about tactics and the captaincy.
Terry’s time as someone who starts and finishes 40+ games each season is over. However, the value he brings to the club would not be diminished if his starting eleven appearances are limited to domestic cup tournaments and the occasional Premier League game.
Terry and the fans would like nothing more than to see him conclude his playing career at Stamford Bridge and then transition into a managerial role with the club. Conte could bring some much needed stability to the team and earn some much-needed goodwill from the fans by retaining Terry and guiding the captain’s transition into his future as a gaffer.
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Will John Terry be that rare athlete in modern sports who plays his entire career – including youth – with a single club? Or will he spend some time seeing the world and collecting hefty paychecks before returning home to Stamford Bridge?