Clearing the speculations, Chelsea FC have announced that they have offered a one-year contract extension to John Terry and stated that the player was considering the offer. Terry will be out of contract by the end of the season and had said in January that he would not be extending his contract any further.
A Chelsea spokesperson said that Director Marina Granovskaia and Chairman Bruce Buck had met John regarding the extension and that it would be a big decision from the defender’s side as the offer came late in the season.
This announcement comes amidst the growing speculation that Chelsea would need Terry for one more season at the least. The former England captain had been in talks expecting to be told he would be leaving the club in summer. Though he had met with Antonio Cante twice before, he had never received any assurances about his future.
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This declaration suggests that interim boss Guus Hiddink also wants him in the club, though he had previously admitted that he was unsure over his future. “It’s good to have big players in a club who are big personalities.
“I’m always in favour, generally, that players, ex-players – I’m not talking about John now – are having a lot of influence in the culture of the club. Maybe, I don’t know when, in the future, it’s also for John,” he said on Friday.
Terry will now have to consider Chelsea along with proposals from elsewhere including Chinese Super League clubs Shanghai SIPG and Jiangsu Suning, who had been credited with an interest earlier. Chelsea fans were also vocal in calling for the club to bring back Terry after the 1-1 draw with Liverpool at Anfield on Wednesday.
After being sent off for a second yellow card against Sunderland, suspending him for the final two games of this season, it was widely speculated that Terry had played his last game for Chelsea. He had not travelled with the squad to Anfield for the match against Liverpool and was training at Chelsea’s Cobham HQ.
Making his debut in October 1998, the 35-year-old defender has made 703 appearances for the club. He has won four Premier League titles, five FA Cups, and has winner’s medal in the Europa League and Champions League as well. He has also captained the team over 500 times and is seen as an inevitable part of Chelsea by many.
