John Terry was in Denmark last night, insisting he would love to stay at Chelsea as he moved into what appear to be his final days at the club.
Terry made a dash to Copenhagen with the club’s permission after training yesterday and watched Brondby, owned by his friend Jan Bech Andersen.
He is expected back at Cobham today and told the Danish Superliga club’s in-house TV channel his preference was still to continue his career at Stamford Bridge.
‘I still want to play for a couple more years, hopefully that’s at Chelsea,’ said Terry, who has been linked with the manager’s job at Brondby where Aurelijus Skarbalius is in temporary charge after Thomas Frank quit in March.
‘I’m a Chelsea player and it’s been my club since the age of 14. I love Chelsea,’ he added.
The 35-year-old defender is out of contract at the end of this season and there have been no talks over a new deal, despite the absence of any formal announcement about his exit.
In January, Terry said he expected to leave at the end of the season.
Plans are in place for his Stamford Bridge farewell after Sunday’s game at home to Leicester, which he will miss through suspension after a red card at Sunderland. Terry and his family will watch from an executive box as Claudio Ranieri makes his triumphant return with newly crowned champions Leicester.
There will be a post-season party attended by the players at a music venue attached to the stadium with tributes planned for the captain, who has made 703 appearances.
Terry plans to return to the Bridge on Monday for a game of football with friends, having booked the pitch. Chelsea have waived the £22,000 hire fee. Supporters are preparing a tribute during the Leicester game.
Terry has told friends he has firm and lucrative offers from teams in China which he is taking seriously, although he is thought to prefer a move to North America for family reasons.
Interested clubs in the Middle East — including Al-Arabi in Qatar where Chelsea legend Gianfranco Zola is in charge — are finding it harder to fund big-name signings after being hit by falling oil prices. – Daily Mail