“It just felt wrong.” Terry reveals strange contract clause with Aston Villa after leaving Chelsea

For a long 17 years, defender John Terry was a pillar at Chelsea. When the time came to move on, he made the step down to Aston Villa. But he made sure to anticipate a possible Premier League return.

Details: Terry has revealed that if he and Aston Villa had ended up playing in the Premier League, he would not have played against Chelsea—a condition he agreed upon with the club.

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Quote: “Chelsea actually offered me a new contract, but I decided to join Aston Villa because they were in the Championship at the time. I had an agreement with Villa: if we got promoted to the Premier League... I wouldn’t play against Chelsea the next season. It just felt wrong.

I never wanted to leave Chelsea, and when it happened, it was under Conte... I got injured, the team started winning without me, and I realized I wasn’t going to get back into the side. I didn’t want to stay at the club just because of my past achievements. I knew my level had dropped and it was time to go,” Terry said.

Reminder: In the end, Terry never had to face Chelsea, as Aston Villa lost the promotion play-off to Fulham, and the following season, the defender did not stay with the team and retired.