Chelsea made headlines in January when they announced that they would not be offering captain John Terry a new contract. The club is in the middle of its Premier League season and Terry is helping it rise from the bottom of the rankings, but his current deal will expire this summer. Can the two sides reach an agreement before it is too late?
Terry has been with Chelsea for 18 years, and most fans cannot remember a time when he was not anchoring the club. However, his contract expires once the Premier League season is over, and Chelsea has not made an effort to begin negotiations on an extension. At 35 years old, Chelsea is seeing Terry's career ending soon, but the captain remains hopeful something gets done.
"I am still very hopeful," Terry said. "I have been there 21 years and I will never give up until it finally happens, but who knows? I have still got a lot to give, whether that is here or somewhere else, for sure."
Sources report that Chelsea has not closed the door on the idea of bringing back Terry. Right now, the team is in the middle of the Premier League season while remaining alive in Champions League play, and they are not looking to get distracted by contract talks. The two sides are expected to meet again before his deal officially expires, and Terry's demands will go a long way in deciding if he returns.
"John was advised that while no new deal was currently on the table, that situation could change in the coming months," a club spokesperson said. "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."
Considering Chelsea is all Terry has ever known, if he does not return to the club, he still has options about where he could head to. The captain could head to China, Qatar or the U.S. to play in the MLS. It appears as though Terry is starting to favor Qatar over the other leagues, but the MLS is expected to pressure the 35-year-old to come over. His ex-teammate Frank Lampard believes the MLS would be a solid fit for Terry, but only if one of the big-budget teams offer a large contract.
Terry made it clear that he has no plans on playing in the Premier League should Chelsea not extend his deal. For now, he is focused on the current season and will address his future when the time comes.
"We're not thinking about that at the moment," Terry said. "With everyone slipping up there are obviously possibilities. We were spoken about pretty early on in the season and written off, so it's nice what we're doing at the moment -- winning games and in the top half of the table for the first time in a long time."
