John Terry: Chelsea defender to leave Stamford Bridge

Chelsea captain John Terry is not being offered a new contract and will leave the club at the end of the season.

John Terry has won the Premier League four times

The 35-year-old defender, who joined the club at the age of 14, has won four Premier League titles, five FA Cups and the Champions League with the Blues.

"Ideally I would have loved to stay, but the club's moving in a different direction," he said.
Terry has played 696 times for Chelsea and hopes to continue his career, but not with another English club.

"I couldn't play for another Premier League club. It will be elsewhere for sure," added the former England captain.

"I feel as though I'm in great nick, I'm playing great and I've got a couple of years to go. It'll just be elsewhere.

"The club will move on. No player is ever bigger than the club. No doubt they'll sign one or two great centre-backs."

A season of change

Jose Mourinho left Terry on the bench and replaced him on occasions in 2015-16

Terry's 2015-16 season offers a stark contrast to the previous campaign, where he played in every minute of
Chelsea's Premier League winning campaign.

This year he found himself on the bench under former manager Jose Mourinho and was substituted at half-time during a defeat at Manchester City in August.

Chelsea suffered their worst start to a Premier League season, leading to Mourinho being sacked and replaced by Guus Hiddink until the end of the season.

"They said that when the new manager comes in, things might change," Terry added. "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.

"It's not going to be a fairytale ending, I'm not going to retire at Chelsea, which it took me a couple of days to get over."

17 years of highs and lows

John Terry missed the chance for Chelsea to win the Champions League in 2008

High: Wins his first major honour - the FA Cup in 2000

High: Named Uefa defender of the year in 2005, 2008 and 2009

Low: Missing a penalty to win the Champions League against Manchester United in 2008

High: Completes a Premier League and FA Cup double in 2010

Low: Stripped of the England captaincy and publically criticised for an affair with the ex-partner of former
Chelsea and England team-mate Wayne Bridge in 2010

High: Wins the Champions League in 2012 as Chelsea overcome Bayern Munich

Low: Stripped of the England captaincy, banned for four matches and fined for racial abuse of Queens Park Rangers defender Anton Ferdinand in 2012

'Someone had to compromise'

Terry is a fans' favourite at Stamford Bridge

Terry has played 477 league games for Chelsea, only Ryan Giggs, Jamie Carragher, Steven Gerrard and Paul Scholes have managed more for a single club in the Premier League.

His captaincy arrived as the side embarked on their most successful spell in their history and he stands as the highest-scoring defender in Premier League history on 40 goals.

"It's difficult," said former Chelsea defender Graeme Le Saux. "The relationship between an older player who has been at the club all his career, it's whether the club are going to compromise or the player will compromise.

"I'd love to see him there because I think he still as a huge role to play."

Match of the Day pundit Mark Lawrenson added: "For most of his career at Chelsea, anyone could play with him, he was that good. I think he will jump across the Atlantic and meet his mate Frank Lampard in New York."

A Premier League legend?