Tearful Chelsea captain John Terry takes to mic and says he wants to stay at Chelsea during post-match address to fans
Emotional Chelsea skipper John Terry insisted that he wants to stay at Stamford Bridge after taking to the microphone and addressing the club’s fans following his side’s 1-1 draw with champions Leicester.
Despite Terry revealing in January that his contract, which expires next month, would not be renewed, the 35-year-old was offered fresh terms last week on a new deal, which would involve him accepting “a different role”.
The centre-half was suspended for yesterday’s final match of a turbulent season for the Blues, but concluded his post-match speech, as fans chanted “John Terry, we want you to stay”, by suggesting that remaining at Chelsea is not out of the question.
“We all want the same thing. I’ve said that. I want to stay, the club knows that, and the fans know that,” said Terry.
Chelsea’s players had earlier afforded former boss Claudio Ranieri, who was sacked in 2004 and succeeded by Jose Mourinho, a guard of honour after returning to Stamford Bridge as a Premier League champion following Leicester’s fairytale success.
Yesterday’s draw, during which England hopeful Danny Drinkwater cancelled out a Cesc Fabregas penalty inside the final 10 minutes, coupled with Stoke’s victory over West Ham, saw Chelsea finish 10th, 31 points adrift of the Foxes.
“This has been a difficult season, we are where we deserve to be in the league,” added Terry. “I can assure you we’ll be back fighting for this title next year. On a personal note this has been tough for me, very emotional.”
Leicester concluded the season 10 points clear of Arsenal in second place, and Ranieri has already switched his focus to next season’s Champions League campaign. He said: “I hope we are ready and don’t listen too much to the music but make some music of our own.”