Report: John Terry will not return to Chelsea next season

ESPN FC has just reported that John Terry’s Chelsea contract won’t be renewed, meaning he will leave at the end of the season.

Captain, leader, legend John Terry will not be coming back to Chelsea next season. Many speculated it would happen, and ESPN FC all but confirmed it just moments ago:

This comes on the heels of an impressive win in the FA Cup where the only thing that could’ve possibly soured the mood for Chelsea fans was something like this.

In a way, it was expected. When Jose Mourinho was in charge at the start of the season, he publicly called out Terry on more than one occasion and refused to start him. Branislav Ivanovic also signed a deal recently that will keep him around until next season, meaning the Blues must have taken a one-or-the-other approach. And with Kurt Zouma continuing to develop into a future star, Chelsea won’t be missing him at centre back.

John Terry is a player who fully embodies Chelsea FC, having been with the club’s youth academy since 1995. Legends have left before – including Didier Drogba and Petr Cech – but Terry is actually English and (save for a brief loan spell at Nottingham Forest) only ever wore a Chelsea shirt. Almost 500 appearances later, he still provided a memorable moment this season when he scored a dramatic late equalizer against Everton to extend the team’s unbeaten streak under Guus Hiddink.

While it’s best for him to move on at this stage in his career, it still represents the end of an era and Chelsea fans will certainly miss him.