John Terry retires: Chelsea legend thanks 'best fans in the world' in farewell message

AFP/Getty Images
Standard Sport7 October 2018

Former Chelsea and England captain John Terry has announced his retirement from playing football.

The 37-year-old has hung up his boots and is expected to focus on a career in management.

He captained Aston Villa last season and the Championship club reportedly want him in their new-look coaching staff, with Thierry Henry in pole position to become manager this week.

Read Terry's farewell message in full below...

John Terry's career in pictures

1/14

"After 23 incredible years as a football, I have decided now is the right time to retire from playing.

"I have many people to thank. My wife Tony and my two children, Georgie and Summer, for being my rocks throughout my career - I couldn't have done it without you, I love you with all my heart.

"I thank my parents, Sue and Ted, for the sacrifices they made for me as a boy, giving me the best opportunity to fulfil my dream and become a professional football. My brother Paul, for his help and advice throughout my career - and all my family and friends for their great support.

"As a 14-year-old, I made my best and biggest decision: to sign for Chelsea Football Club. Words will never be enough to show how much everyone at the club means to me, in particular the fans.

Getty Images

"Right from the outset they have given me total support, on and off the pitch, and I have a tremendous bond with them.

"We achieved so many great memories together and I couldn't have succeeded without you. To me, you are the best fans in the world. I hope I have done you all proud wearing the shirt and the armband.

"I want to thank my amazing team-mates, coaches, managers and backroom staff, who I was honoured to work with and learn from. They all guided me on my way to playing 717 times for the club I love, and it was a privilege to serve them as captain.

Getty Images

"They also helped me achieve my boyhood dream of playing for and captaining England, of which I am immensely proud.

"My club career and heart will always belong to Chelsea, but I am grateful for my loan spell at Nottingham Forest in 1999, which was invaluable for my development as a young player.

"And I also want to say a huge thank you to Aston Villa for giving me the opportunity to play at such a huge club and captain it through the 2017/18 season. It was a privilege to represent such a renowned football club with great fans.

Terry becomes the second Englishman to head to Russia.
Getty Images

"I look forward to the next chapter in my life and the challenges ahead.

"Jt."

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in

MORE ABOUT