Posted on: 05:17 Mon, 01 Feb 2016



Chelsea have decided to not offer a new
contract to legendary captain John Terry, and
he will now leave at the end of the season.

Terry, who made his debut for Chelsea in 1998
and has been with the club ever since, released
a statement announcing his decision.
His statement read: “To be honest, I was in last
week before the Arsenal game and it’s [the
contract] not going to be extended.

“It’s my last run in the FA Cup so I want to
make it a good one. It’s a big season for me
and I want to push on – not just in this
competition but in the Premier League as well. I
knew before the Arsenal game so mentally I’ve
kind of accepted it. We just have to move on.
“They said that when the new manager comes
in, things might change. It’s a no at the minute.
I needed to know now like I have done every
January and sometimes it takes a couple of
months to get done.

“Unfortunately it was a no. 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.

“But like I say, I knew before the Arsenal game
and my performance isn’t going to change – the
way I train, what I give for the club. I want to
give everything and finish on a high, on 100 per
cent good terms with the club.
“We spoke about my legacy and coming back to
the club when I finish. The most important thing
now is to get us up the league.

“I didn’t feel as though I was playing great in
the first four or five games of the season, like
everyone in the team, and the performances
showed that. But since then myself and
everyone else has picked up back to where we
are. All I can do is keep my head down and plug
on because it’ll be my last year at the club.

“The club will move on. No player is ever bigger
than the club. Ideally I would have loved to stay,
but the club’s moving in a different direction.
No doubt they’ll sign one or two great centre-
backs.

“I want to come back as a Chelsea supporter in
years to come with my kids and see the team
doing great. Unfortunately that’s not going to be
with me, but I want to see the team do well. It’s
going to be my last year and I want to go out at
the top.

“I couldn’t play for another Premier League
club, I couldn’t do that to the Chelsea fans. It
will be elsewhere for sure. I don’t know where
and I leave that to the people in charge. It
certainly won’t be in the Premier League.

“My agent made the call like we do every
January. He got told over the phone and I called
to set up a meeting the following day. The club
immediately set that up, which was great of
them to do that. I wanted to hear it face to
face. They told me.