The 34-year-old Premier League veteran is preparing to begin what will be his 13th season as Chelsea FC captain, and insists that fans giving him stick across England would love to have him in their team
The Blues captain’s infamy on and off the pitch has often seen him being singled out for abuse by rival fans across the country, but the Chelsea FC legend believes the abusers would be more than willing to have him in their teams.
“I don’t want to be hated”
Chelsea FC took part in the North American version of the International Champions Cup in the United States – only recently returning to England – and the Blues’ skipper shared his thoughts with American soccer podcast Men in Blazers following his team’s penalty shoot-out victory against Barcelona in Washington.
The former England captain is quoted by England’s Mail Online as saying: “You hope that when you hang up your boots, obviously, you don’t want to be hated. You just want to be known as a very good footballer and someone who gave their all for their club.
John Terry: Fans who give me abuse would LOVE me in their team http://t.co/qfnT271Fmf
a MailOnline Sport (@MailSport) July 30, 2015
“I’m sure that if I was in their team, they (the opposing fans) would love me in their team because I’m one of those players who gives everything to the cause. Regardless of what people think or say, you can’t take away what I’ve done in the game. As a person and player, that’s for anyone who’s met me.
“Anyone who’s not met me shouldn’t be judging me or the character or person I am but as I say, footballing wise they’ve had opportunities to see me play and if you’re a football person you can make a judgement on whether I’m a good player or not.”
John Terry relationship with English fans is unfortunate
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Although the Chelsea FC captain will admit he has made several mistakes on and off the pitch during his career with the Blues, the vitriol that comes the way of one of England’s finest ever defenders during away games across the country is unfortunate.
Despite that, a sizeable number of England fans have criticized the Football Association for the way they handled the whole John Terry affair, which eventually led to the departure of national team manager Fabio Capello.
The fact remains that the Chelsea FC centre-back is the country’s best defender and could have contributed immensely towards strengthening a floundering defence that is conspicuously lacking in world class quality.
England’s loss was Chelsea’s gain, however, and perhaps the lack of international football has helped Terry maintain his extraordinary fitness levels which saw him play every single minute of the 2014-2015 Barclays Premier League season.
The Blues’ skipper will be hoping for a repeat this time around as he prepares to lead his side out in the season opener against fierce rivals Arsenal in the Community Shield at Wembley on Sunday.