Trizia Fiorellino, chair of the Chelsea Supporters Group, told BBC radio: “It seems a very unusual 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?”
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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. “It’s going to be my previous year and I want to go out at the top”.
Chelsea said in a statement that there was still some chance he could be at the west London club next season.
The decision is baffling to some as Branislav Ivanovic was recently given a one-year contract extension despite his poor form this season, while Gary Cahill signed a four-year deal prior to his 30th birthday despite being out of the starting XI at present.
‘On the other hand I don’t want to overvalue the attention we are giving it, the club wants to have the dialogue…to have an open door still.
Terry feels he still has a couple of years of play ahead of him and the two teams previously mentioned are likely to express interest on the Blues icon. “I didn’t know”, the France global told the Evening Standard newspaper. So it was a bit surprising (that he said what he did).
Only defender Ron Harris and goalkeeper Peter Bonetti have played more games for the club.
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. “It is early, we have to see what is coming up in the transition of the management as well”.
Terry added: “Ideally I would have loved to stay, but the club’s moving in a different direction”.
“He was the symbol of cohesion inside Chelsea’s club because him, Frank Lampard, Didier Drogba and (Petr) Cech were the players who carried the club’s values for long periods”. Just as Liverpool allowed Steven Gerrard to play out his career at another club, Chelsea are prepared to cut the cord rather than absorb him into a coaching role.
“I want to keep that going”. When I started my first games past year he was always talking to me.
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The prospect of Terry leaving has also dismayed the club’s fans, for whom he is an emblematic figure. Only Ryan Giggs, Jamie Carragher, Steven Gerrard and Paul Scholes have managed more for a single club in the Premier League.
