"Terry is the captain, Steven Gerrard is not"

Marcel Desailly is a well known figure at Stamford Bridge, and is loved by the Chelsea faithful, as he captained the Chelsea side before handing over the arm band to a young John Terry. The Frenchman fully backed Terry after the defender’s surprise retirement and pointed fingers at the FA for pursuing their charges on the Chelsea captain, saying: “It is a complicated story. It’s not just ‘I no longer want to’. This is a larger problem with the FA.

“It is also a way for him to protect himself. You must remember that at Chelsea, players past 30 years of age can only sign contracts for one year. At 31 years of age, John perhaps wants to protect his future as a footballer and try to get himself an extension of two years.”

Desailly also believed that Steven Gerrard was not capable of replacing someone like John Terry.

“The English team loses a lot. John is a leader. He is the captain, Steven Gerrard is not.

“Gerrard is a soloist, a great player but has no impact off the field. In the life of the group, the leader is John Terry.”