England now, Chelsea next? Ramos end for Terry

Chelsea stand by John Terry as Terry stands by Chelsea.

However, if press reports are to be believed the hunt for a new centre-back is on and The Daily Mail built on reports of growing rift between Sergio Ramos and Real Madrid to suggest this could spur a January bid from Blues for the defender.

Ramos has fallen out with Mourinho after he was dropped him for their Champions League clash against City.

Chelsea have keen to bring in a defender and Roberto Di Matteo will be keen to strengthen the defence after they threw away a two-goal lead against Juventus on Wednesday.

Terry in particular has looked very vulnerable when playing in Europe and is certainly done for pace over 90 minutes.

He is also not an attacking-minded full-back like Ramos.

So Ramos could provide the ideal cover for Terry.

End for England

Former England captain John Terry unexpectedly ended his nine-year international career on Sunday, quitting before he was due to face a racism hearing because his place in the team had become "untenable."

Despite being cleared in court of racially abusing Queens Park Rangers defender Anton Ferdinand during a Premier League match last year, the Chelsea defender was facing a lengthy ban if found guilty by a Football Association panel this week.

"I have always given my all and it breaks my heart to make this decision," Terry said.
The 31-year-old Terry became the first England player to be stripped of the captaincy twice when he was fired in February ahead of the criminal trial.

But he was allowed to keep playing for the national team, making his 78th — and last — appearance against Moldova in World Cup qualifier earlier this month after being cleared in court.

John, the victim

"I am making this statement today in advance of the hearing of the FA disciplinary charge because I feel the FA, in pursuing charges against me where I have already been cleared in a court of law, have made my position with the national team untenable," Terry said.

The FA could ban Terry for eight club matches, the punishment Liverpool striker Luis Suarez received last year for racially abusing Manchester United defender Patrice Evra in a game.

But Terry has no plans to stop playing for Chelsea, where he has spent his entire career.

"I now look forward to playing for Chelsea FC, and challenging for domestic and European honors," he said. "And I want to thank the fans and the club for their continued support."

Chelsea published a statement on its website announcing the move, saying: "This was a personal and difficult decision for John to take as playing for and captaining his country was a boyhood dream."

Chelsea stood by Terry throughout his high-profile trial in July, with chairman Bruce Buck attending every day at Westminster Magistrates' Court.

During four days of evidence, prosecutors claimed Terry snapped in response to insults about an alleged extramarital affair and racially abused Ferdinand.

But Terry said all he did was sarcastically repeat the offensive term that he was accused of using.

The magistrate who ruled on the case said in his judgment that Terry's explanation was "certainly under the cold light of forensic examination, unlikely."

But Terry was found not guilty of a racially aggravated public order offense after the magistrate decided it was "impossible" to be sure what the player said.

There is a lower burden of proof for the FA charge, however, potentially putting England's soccer authorities in a difficult position about whether Terry could have played for the national team again.

Terry made his England debut in 2003 against Serbia and Montenegro, and was one of the team's star performers in the run to the European Championship quarterfinals in June ahead of his trial.

"I would like to thank the England managers who have selected me for my 78 caps," Terry said. "I have had great pleasure in sharing that honor with all the players that I've played with.

"I would like to thank them, the fans and my family for their support and encouragement during my international career.

“Representing and captaining my country is what I dreamed of as a boy and it has been a truly great honor."
England's career has been mired in controversy during the past two years.

Terrible Terry

* Nightclub brawl

* Claims of drunkenly taunting US tourists shortly after the 9/11 attacks

* Reports of affair with model Vanessa Perroncel, ex-partner of team-mate Wayne Bridge

* First stripped of England captaincy before 2010 World Cup following allegations of affair

* Reinstated a year later, lost England captaincy again when racism trial was delayed until after Euro 2012

No tears for Teflon Terry

British newspapers on Monday expressed regret over the loss to the national team of ex-England captain John Terry -- but contrasted his impressive record on the pitch with his chequered personal history.

Terry's shock retirement from international football came hours before the Football Association was due to hold a hearing into claims the Chelsea defender racially abused Queens Park Rangers' Anton Ferdinand, despite a court having found him not guilty.

The football editor of The Times newspaper said "the game has been tarnished" by the incident last October and "Terry did the right thing last night. It may well have been the hardest thing he's ever done."

"JT walks out on England," proclaimed the Sun tabloid in a headline, adding "78 caps but no tears".

It said many fans "have grown to dislike a player who, nevertheless, remains this country's best defender by a distance... Terry's career has been a soap opera and, at times, an unsavoury one."

Twice England captain, Terry, 31, had become "not a symbol of unity but of division," according to a commentator in the tabloid Mirror, who said his "legacy had become tainted beyond repair".

But the Sun said the Chelsea skipper retained the capacity to surprise.

"He will probably return one day... as manager," it predicted boldly.

"Equally, it would not be the greatest surprise if one day, we see Terry in an England shirt again. This is a bloke who was stripped of the England captaincy, won it back but lost it again.

"Do not forget. Nothing seems to stick with Teflon Terry."

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