In-depth: Could John Terry stay at Chelsea after all?

ByEurosport

Updated 01/02/2016 at 09:19 GMT

Chelsea say John Terry could yet be offered a contract extension after the captain announced he would be leaving this summer.

Chelsea's John Terry celebrates with the UEFA Champions League trophy

Image credit: PA Sport

WHAT HAPPENED

Chelsea captain John Terry appeared to confirm on Sunday that he will leave the club in the summer when his contract expires.

The 35-year-old had been hoping to secure a 12-month extension but told reporters that he'd been informed by the club prior to last week's win at Arsenal that he would not be offered a new deal.

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Yet Chelsea have now contradicted the captain's statement, saying that while no new deal is currently on the table the situation could change over the coming months.

John Terry announces that he'll be leaving Chelsea

TERRY'S WORDS

The former England captain made Chelsea's decision public in a hotel corridor inside stadium:mk following a 5-1 FA Cup win at MK Dons on Sunday.

It's not going to be a fairytale ending, I'm not going to retire at Chelsea. It’s going to be elsewhere which it took me a couple of days to get over.... It’s my last run in the FA Cup so I want to make it a good one. It’s a big season for me and I want to push on - not just in this competition but in the Premier League as well. I knew before the Arsenal game so mentally I’ve kind of accepted it. We just have to move on.

Terry did keep a window of hope open, suggesting that the incoming manager may be able to reverse the decision.

"They said that when the new manager comes in, things might change. 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. Unfortunately it was a no."

Chelsea's captain John Terry arrives for training

Image credit: Reuters

[TERRY'S ANNOUNCEMENT: John Terry confirms he will leave Chelsea in the summer]

CHELSEA'S STATEMENT

On Monday morning a Chelsea statement suggested that Terry's statement had been hugely premature, and said that a new contract offer could be forthcoming after all.

A club spokesman said:

John requested a meeting with the club the week before last. In that meeting he asked about the possibility of an extension to his existing contract. John was advised that while no new deal was currently on the table, that situation could change in the coming months. The club has the utmost respect for John and everything he has helped us achieve to date. He is a fantastic servant of Chelsea Football Club and a superb captain and, as such, the club will keep the channels of dialogue open.

John Terry applauds the fans following Chelsea's win over MK Dons

Image credit: Reuters

SO IS HE REALLY GOING?

Let's not get fans' hopes up: there is still a good chance that John Terry is leaving the club at the end of the season. He is 35, his powers are clearly on the wane and the new permanent manager of the club, when appointed, might well wish to look elsewhere.

However, there's more than a whiff of the negotiating tactic about Terry's dramatic declaration that he was leaving - almost immediately undermined by his admission that the club said things could change. There is nobody held in higher esteem by Chelsea fans and, with the board already under fire over the sacking of Jose Mourinho, Terry's popularity alone could land him a new deal.

A cynical ploy? We don't know, but this is 21st century football, and in 2009 Terry signed a big new deal only after a prolonged flirtation with Manchester City. And he;s far from alone.

At Barcelona, legendary Brazilian full-back Dani Alves spent several months early last year tell the world that he would leave Camp Nou in the summer, only to backtrack and stay on after all. T

hen, during the summer, Real Madrid icon Sergio Ramos pulled off a similar trick with his paymasters at the Bernabeu, his potential move to Manchester United being talked up repeatedly only for the player to agree a lucrative new deal and then admit that "I never wanted to leave."

Terry has already been the beneficiary of three one-year contract extensions and with Chelsea languishing in the Premier League table they may genuinely want to move on. But rest assured this drama is not over yet.

CHELSEA'S CAPTAIN, LEADER AND LEGEND

He joined Chelsea at the age of 14 and has since made 696 appearances, scoring 66 goals, during 18 seasons as a first-team player.

He has won every major club honour with the Blues, including the Champions League in 2012, four Premier League titles, five FA Cups, three League Cups and the 2013 Europa League.

Terry's career has been punctuated by controversies and he is a divisive figure in the game, but not at Chelsea, where he is adored by the supporters.

He was a pivotal figure in the Blues' first Premier League title in five years, playing every minute of all 38 games.

But his star has since waned and in the second Premier League game of this season, at Manchester City, he was substituted at half-time in a 3-0 loss.

He is yet to decide where, except outside of England, and big-money offers are likely to come in from Major League Soccer and the Chinese Super League.

[AND FOR HIS NEXT TRICK? Where next for departing Chelsea captain John Terry?]

Chelsea manager Mourinho lifts the English Premier League soccer trophy with Gudjohnson, Lampard and Terry at Stamford Bridge in 2005.

Image credit: Reuters

Let's not get fans' hopes up: there is still a good chance that John Terry is leaving the club at the end of the season. He is 35, his powers are clearly on the wane - and have been for some time, at least in terms of his once unarguable consistency - and the new permanent manager of the club, when appointed, might well wish to look elsewhere.

But time and again in 2015 we saw instances of iconic players at huge clubs announce their departure, only for the truth to emerge: that the heartfelt declarations were in fact little more than negotiating tactics.

At Barcelona, legendary Brazilian full-back Dani Alves spent several months early last year tell the world that he would leave Camp Nou in the summer, only to backtrack and stay on after all.

John Terry - Chelsea - Champions League trophy celebration

Image credit: Reuters

Then, during the summer, Real Madrid icon Sergio Ramos pulled off a similar trick with his paymasters at the Bernabeu, his potential move to Manchester United being talked up repeatedly only for the player to agree a lucrative new deal and then admit that "I never wanted to leave."

Is Terry trying the same thing? Possibly, possibly not. But Alves was 31 when his contract strife started, and Ramos only 29; Terry turned 35 in early December, and has already been the beneficiary of three one-year contract extensions.

The "channels of dialogue" might still be open, and Terry might still be keen to stay - but this time, it looks as if that may not be enough.