Captain, Leader, Legend; these are the three words used to describe John Terry at Chelsea. The iconic captain at Stamford Bridge ruled supreme and helped the club win every trophy on land in his 22 years of loyal service to the club. At the age of 36, he finally reached the end of his Chelsea chapter last season and joined Championship side Aston Villa.
The legend has helped the former Premier League side to a strong season this time around with the Villains now second in the league and looking set for a promotion to the top-tier of English football next season.
The 37-year old veteran signed a one year contract with an option to extend it by another 12 months. Villa are ready to play the waiting game as the former England captain is yet to decide on his future in football.
It is well known that he turned down the advancements of Swansea City and former Chelsea coach Paul Clement in the summer because it would mean playing against the Blues.
He told Sky Sports in December: “I didn’t want to play in the Prem, that was a big thing for me, I didn’t want to play against Chelsea,” Terry told Monday Night Football on Sky Sports. “We met [with Clement] and having not wanted to play against Chelsea he pushed me really close as the way he dealt with me. But in the end, I couldn’t do it.”
“For me, it was just the mental side of playing against Chelsea, it was just too much to get over for me,” said Terry. “I was 22 years at the football club, 22 unbelievable years, I’m very proud of that but this is a new chapter in my life, my career. I wish Chelsea well next season and will be watching out but my thoughts are 100 percent here.”
He also discussed the possibility of facing Chelsea the next season if Aston Villa do get promoted. “If that’s the ideal situation and in one year’s time we’re sitting here with Aston Villa back in the Premier League then I’ve done my job and everyone else has done theirs,” he added. “We can cross that bridge hopefully when we come to it.”
Villa coach Steve Bruce knows the value of having an asset like Terry around the club both and off the field. “Money wasn’t the issue, I have to be fair to John,” said Bruce. “We talked about coaching and how we can help him do his badges. It was all to do with football, money was never really mentioned.”
It now seems that Terry might just hang up his boots if Villa qualify but he might hang around at the club to start the next chapter of his glorious life in football.
