Trizia Fiorellino, chair of the Chelsea Supporters Group, told BBC radio: “It seems a very odd time to do it and given that we’ve got no manager at the moment – we’ve got an interim manager (Guus Hiddink) – who has made this decision for John Terry to go?” “On the other hand, and I don’t want to overvalue the attention we are giving it, the club still wants to have a dialogue to have an open door”.
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Hiddink says Terry, who turned 35 last December, is still capable of performing at the top level.
Terry has played 477 league games for Chelsea, the fifth largest amount of appearances by a player for a single club in the Premier League, captaining the side for the majority of those games.
Terry claimed on Sunday his attempts to negotiate a new deal had been rebuffed by club executives, and the captain is now plotting a move at the end of the season.
“That’s certainly not me, I want to be out there and being a big part of things if I possibly can, realising that everyone else is playing well as well”.
” Joined Chelsea aged 14 as a trainee and spent seven weeks on loan at Nottingham Forest in 2000 before returning to Stamford Bridge”.
In total, Terry has helped the club win four Premier League titles, five FA Cups, three League Cups, the 2012 Champions League, and the 2013 Europa League.
“I knew before the Arsenal game, so mentally I’ve kind of accepted it. We just have to move on and climb the league”. No doubt they’ll sign one or two great centrebacks. I like John very much, the way he’s playing and that he’s committed to the team, and will continue to be like that. Despite off-field controversies, including a charge of racist abuse for which he was cleared in court, and an alleged affair with a former teammate’s ex-girlfriend, in nearly 18 years Terry hardly ever let Chelsea down on the pitch.
“I respect (what he said) but I don’t want to say respect”, said Hiddink.
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Chelsea have not made an official decision regarding their captain’s departure. He’s not what you normally see in a 35-year-old player, when you feel you are getting a bit slower and can not accept you’re in a danger zone for red cards etc. But there’s none of that with John. “It’ll just be elsewhere”.
