Former Chelsea captain John Terry has opened up on how he rejected the advances of Manchester United as a youngster despite Sir Alex Ferguson rolling out the red carpet.
Terry was a teenager when he joined the Blues after a spell in West Ham's academy. He went on to captain the team to Premier League glory on multiple occasions, ending his career with more than 700 Chelsea appearances.
It might have been so very different, though. Terry's father, a United fan, wanted the centre-back to move to Old Trafford rather than Stamford Bridge. Ferguson spoke to father and son regularly while a young Terry was making up his mind, but to no avail.
Now 43, Terry is unlikely to have too many regreat about his decision. The academy coach is now helping bring through the next generation of Chelsea stars, and opened up on his own path to West London as a teenager.
Terry started out in West Ham's academy, but left when the club changed their academy coach. At that point, he had a choice between United, Chelsea and Arsenal, with the three clubs taking different approaches.
"Arsenal had rolled out the red carpet for me, Man United had done the same, and Chelsea didn’t do anything," Terry told William Hill's 'Up Front with Simon Jordan podcast. "All they offered me was a pair of boots [for] my first season and my £2 expenses for getting the train from Barking to Battersea, nothing else.
"I had Sir Alex Ferguson phoning my house, speaking to my dad and speaking to me on a weekly, monthly basis, checking that I was going to school, that I was doing everything right and training. It was incredible."
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It didn't take long for Terry's heart to be won over by the Blues. “When I walked into Chelsea I just knew Chelsea was the right club for me," he continued. "I just felt it was home, you know when you walk into a house and just get the feeling that 'I'm here for the next 20 years', I felt that at Chelsea.
"I don't know what it was, because we were training at Battersea Park and I had to get the train on my own from school. I'd leave school at 4:30 to get there for seven o’clock, walk across the park on my own, get my £2 for train fare home - which I never did, I pocketed that and bunked the fare.
"I'd then go home but I'm walking across Battersea Park at 10 at night. I'd get in at half 11, from the age of 14, 15, I did that for a couple of years and then had a decision to make on who I was signing for but I absolutely loved it... I just fell in love with Chelsea.”
Terry's dad, however, had a different outlook. "When I signed schoolboy forms on the pitch at Chelsea, they put on a meal for you and your family... Before the game, my dad kicks off, [saying] 'You should f***ing sign for Man United'," he said.
"He's not happy at all - he's a Man United fan, my dad, and he wants me to sign for Man United. Because my dad was probably pushing me there, this was probably my way of going 'No, I'm doing what I want to do'. We're due to go down [to sign] 15 minutes before half-time - and my dad's in the tunnel saying 'I'm not signing the f***ing forms'.
Ultimately, Terry's mother signed the forms, despite the player's father's protestations, and the youngster officially joined Chelsea's academy. The rest is history.
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