Chelsea are reportedly baffled by remarks made by former captain John Terry following a surprising outburst in which he claimed he was snubbed for a first-team role earlier this year. There is supposed confusion within the club over the ex-defender’s comments.
Terry hung up his boots in 2018 and swiftly pursued his coaching qualifications, harbouring ambitions of becoming a manager. Although he’s had stints as an assistant, he’s yet to take the reins as head coach or manager, with his ultimate dream seemingly to guide Chelsea from the touchline.
Now 45, Terry has since transitioned to a role within the academy at Cobham, but expressed his disappointment at being passed over for a senior position earlier this year. Following the dismissal of Enzo Maresca, Under-21s coach Calum McFarlane was handed the reins until Liam Rosenior’s appointment.
Ensure our latest sport headlines always appear at the top of your Google Search by making us a Preferred Source. Click here to activate or add us as a Preferred Source in your Google search settings.
Speaking about that decision, Terry aired his grievances on the Golf Life YouTube channel: “Not annoyed, probably more frustrated, because I was certainly part of that Under‐21s group that went over. So even if I didn’t take the team … Calum took the team, did really well, got a result out of the [Manchester City] game. I feel like I should have been part of that.
“Now listen, people have got to make decisions. I love it when people make decisions and they go ‘yes’ or ‘no’. Clearly the ownership, or whoever made those decisions – the sporting directors – have gone ‘no’ not to include me, for whatever reason. I don’t know why.”
Terry’s assertion has seemingly left those at the club perplexed, according to The Telegraph, especially as he said months ago that he had abandoned his ambitions of becoming a manager. The former defender has an ongoing contract with Chelsea, but his current role seems to be more focused on mentoring within the academy, compared to other coaches.
He revealed last August: “I’m done in terms of coaching. I’m enjoying my life, I’m working in the Chelsea academy. My role’s a part-time role, I love working with the kids, I love passing on my knowledge and experience to those boys.
“I don’t really coach at the moment, I’m a mentor, ambassador. I went for a couple of jobs and those days are gone for me.
“I’m enjoying my life a little bit, I’ve got my time to myself, I play a bit of golf, I’m in the academy and I have some family time as well. It’s a really good balance for me.”
These recent remarks could well extinguish any prospect of Terry assuming a caretaker role at Chelsea should the club opt for another managerial change. It’s evidently a disappointing development for the former England captain, who had previously expressed his ambition to pursue management.