Chelsea’s most successful captain, John Terry, will leave the club at the end of the season after more than two decades.
The announcement was jointly made by the player and club on Monday.
“Everybody at Stamford Bridge would like to express our enormous gratitude to John and wish him the very best of luck for the future,” the club said in a statement.
Everybody at Stamford Bridge would like to express our enormous gratitude to John and wish him the very best of luck for the future. pic.twitter.com/Yo9NrXNBMs
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) April 17, 2017
Terry is Chelsea’s most decorated individual, with four Premier League titles, one Champions League, five FA Cups, a Europa League and three League Cups.
He has made 713 Chelsea appearances since his 1998 debut – 578 as captain.
This season he has featured less on the field but remained an influential and inspirational member of the squad which, under Antonio Conte’s guidance, sits top of the Premier League.
“I feel I still have plenty to offer on the pitch but understand that opportunities here at Chelsea will be limited for me,” Terry, 36, said.
The centre-back, who has scored 66 goals for the club he joined as a 14-year-old, has made just four Premier League starts this season.
He is the club’s third highest all-time appearance maker, behind Ron Harris and Peter Bonetti, and holds the club record for appearances as captain.
Terry, who made his debut for Chelsea as a 17-year-old in a 1998 League Cup match, has gone on to score 40 Premier League goals over 19 years.
He has played almost all of his career at Chelsea, other than six loan appearances for Nottingham Forest in 2000.
“I will, of course, always be a Blue and am desperate to end my final season as a Chelsea player with more silverware,” said Terry, whose team have a four-point lead at the top of the Premier League table.
“I’ve always been conscious that I depart at the right time, in the right way, and I feel that the end of this season is the right time for the club and I.”
Terry, the club and Premier League’s top-scoring defender, is one of just five defenders to have won the PFA Player of the Year award.
He retired from international football in 2012 after winning 78 England caps and signed a one-year contract extension with the Blues in May 2016.
“I’m eager to carry on playing and so will be looking to continue with a new challenge,” Terry added.
“Words cannot describe the love I have for our football club and our amazing Chelsea fans. You mean the world to me and I will never forget the incredible journey we’ve been on.”
Chelsea director Marina Granovskaia said: “He will always be held in the highest regard by everybody at Stamford Bridge and we look forward to welcoming him back in the future.”
