After 713 games, four Premier League titles, five FA Cups, a Champions League, a Europa League and three League Cups for the club, John Terry announced he is leaving Chelsea.
Terry’s two-decade association with the Blues will come to an end when this season finishes, with the side well-poised to provide Terry with one more domestic trophy before he says farewell to Stamford Bridge.
The centre-half released a statement via the club website on Monday afternoon, in which he issued his thanks to all at Chelsea for what they had done for his career.
BREAKING: John Terry has confirmed he will leave the club at the end of the season https://t.co/PKbvuZK9mz
— JOE (@JOE_co_uk) April 17, 2017
At 36, Terry insists that he is “eager to carry on playing and so will be looking to continue with a new challenge,” and while the announcement was to be expected, one aspect of the statement has left two of the defender’s former international teammates scratching their heads.
Both Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher, speaking on Monday Night Football, questioned the timing of Terry’s announcement.
“The news of Terry leaving is incredibly strange timing, I don’t get it at all,” Neville said.
“I’m not really sure who it suits, maybe John Terry a little bit, but I’m not even sure about that.
“It may be a distraction for the dressing room, the club and the fans will be sad today especially after the big game they lost yesterday. Maybe he’s signed a pre-agreement with somebody and they couldn’t keep it quiet any longer.”
The fact that Chelsea finally confirmed Terry’s departure less than 24 hours removed from their 2-0 defeat to Manchester United caused plenty of raised eyebrows in the football community.
And while the defender has only made five league appearances for Antonio Conte’s side this season, Neville insists he could still do a job in the back four, particularly when the title run-in intensifies.
“They haven’t kept a clean sheet for quite a bit now and I think he could be quite useful for them,” Neville continued.
John Terry and Chelsea Football Club today jointly announce our captain will leave the club at the end of the season https://t.co/zQZe6zPLGC
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) April 17, 2017
“If they needed someone with experience in this last month to get them over the line, he might be the man they need to call on.
“He’s got the experience, the resilience, the robustness and that toughness which would get his teammates over line. He may be Chelsea’s most important player in the next few weeks.”
Carragher echoed the sentiments of his punditry soulmate as the Liverpool legend admitted that he couldn’t understand the timing of the announcement.
“The timing seems a bit strange on the back of yesterday’s game and result,” Carragher said.
“But for me, he’s the best centre-back in the Premier League era. An absolute legend and he’ll certainly go down as Chelsea’s greatest player. He’s one of the greats of the Premier League era and number one for me…
“I think he’s got a lot to offer as a player in the Premier League. You associate him as a one-club man and I think it’s always sad when a player of that stature for a club puts a shirt on for someone else.
“The fact he’s come out early with this announcement I see him playing for someone else next season. Hopefully for us it’s in the Premier League.”
