John Terry opens up on Chelsea exit and Aston Villa no-play clause

Updated: 26 Jul, 2025 • 0 • min read

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John Terry opens up on Chelsea exit and Aston Villa no-play clause

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Chelsea icon John Terry has revealed the emotional and personal reasons behind his 2017 departure from Stamford Bridge, and the unique agreement he made with Aston Villa to ensure he never played against the Blues.

Terry, now 44, captained Chelsea through their golden era, winning 15 major trophies, including five Premier League titles and both the Champions League and Europa League.

After nearly two decades in West London and over 700 appearances, he bid farewell to the only club he had ever known professionally.

Speaking to talkSPORT, Terry said:

I never wanted to leave Chelsea, and when I did, it was when when [Antonio] Conte came in.

He took over and we won the league. I got injured, it took me a bit longer to recover and when I was out of the team, we went on a winning streak of 10 games and I was like **** I'm not getting back in this.

But for me, it was like I was out of it and I knew at that point that I had nothing more to give to Chelsea.

Despite being club captain, Terry recognised that his playing levels were dropping and that it was the right time to walk away.

I never just wanted to be there just because I'd earned that as a player, I knew my levels after that were going one way.

So for me, it was time to go.

Aston Villa Move - With a Chelsea Clause

Following the expiry of his Chelsea contract in 2017, Terry joined Aston Villa in the Championship for one final playing stint.

But even then, his heart remained tied to Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea did offer me another contract, but I decided to go to Aston Villa because they were in the Championship.

And I had an agreement with Villa that if we got promoted that year - we lost in the Play-Off final to Fulham - that I wouldn't play against Chelsea the following year in the Premier League.

So the two games I would have missed the next year would have been Chelsea.

Terry would retire from professional football the following year in October 2018, closing the book on an extraordinary playing career.

John Terry - Career Highlights at Chelsea