Chelsea legend John Terry has admitted that he came 'very close' to breaking his promise of not playing against his former side. The ex-England international received an offer from ex-Swansea City boss Paul Clement in the summer, but he opted to snub their advances for a switch to Aston Villa.
Speaking on Sky Sports' Monday Night Football, Terry confirmed that there was indeed interest from the English top-flight with former Blues coach Clement urging Terry to pursue a move to South Wales. However, Terry eventually decided against the switch as he wanted to avoid featuring versus the west London side.
He said: "I didn’t want to play in the Premiership, that was a big thing for me, I didn’t want to play against Chelsea. But obviously I gave Clement the service because I felt I owed that to him with what he done for me, how he helped me growing up. But we met and having not wanted to play against Chelsea he pushed me really close as the way he dealt with me. But in the end I couldn't do it."
With the Villains, Terry had a tough beginning as the club were hampered by injuries higher up the field. Nevertheless, things have stabilised as the season has gone on, though the Englishman has been unlucky to miss out in recent weeks after fracturing a metatarsal bone.
Terry is due to link up with the Villains at the turn of the year, and he could have a key role to play for the west Midlands outfit as they aim to end their two-year wait for Premier League football. Should they achieve promotion, the veteran may well reject a 12-month extension which could trigger talks over his potential retirement from the game altogether. Villa are currently five points adrift of an automatic promotion spot.