Chelsea FC captain John Terry will leave the club at the end of
the season after more than two decades there.
He is their most decorated individual, with four Premier League
titles, one Champions League, five FA Cups, a Europa League and three League
Cups.
The naijaroyaltyculture.blogspot.com reports that he has made
713 Chelsea appearances since his 1998 debut — 578 as captain.
I feel I still have plenty to offer on the pitch but understand
that opportunities here at Chelsea will be limited for me,” the 36-year-old
Terry said.
Centre-back Terry, who has scored 66 goals for the club he
joined as a 14-year-old, has made just four Premier League starts this season.
He is the club’s third highest all-time appearance maker, behind
Ron Harris and Peter Bonetti, and holds the club record for appearances as
captain.
Terry, who made his debut for Chelsea as a 17-year-old in a 1998
League Cup match, has gone on to score 40 Premier League goals over 19 years.
He has played almost all of his career at Chelsea, other than
six loan appearances for Nottingham Forest in 2000.
I will, of course, always be a Blue and am desperate to end my
final season as a Chelsea player with more silverware,” said Terry, whose team
have a four-point lead at the top of the Premier League table.
I’ve always been conscious that I depart at the right time, in
the right way, and I feel that the end of this season is the right time for the
club and I.”
Terry, the club and Premier League’s top-scoring defender, is
one of just five defenders to have won the PFA Player of the Year award.
He retired from international football in 2012 after winning 78
England caps and signed a one-year contract extension with the Blues in May
2016.
I’m eager to carry on playing and so will be looking to continue
with a new challenge,” Terry added.
Words cannot describe the love I have for our football club and
our amazing Chelsea fans. You mean the world to me and I will never forget the
incredible journey we’ve been on.”
Chelsea director Marina Granovskaia said: “He will always be held in the
highest regard by everybody at Stamford Bridge and we look forward to welcoming
him back in the future.
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