Terry ‘totally committed’ to Chelsea

JOHN TERRY last night pledged his future to Chelsea, insisting he is “totally committed” to the Stamford Bridge side.

The England skipper, 28, responded to persistent reports linking him with a big money move to Manchester City by releasing a statement in which he insisted he has never contemplated leaving Chelsea.

The defender was wanted by City manager Mark Hughes as a key part of the Manchester club’s recent revolution that has seen them spend £80 million (€94m) this summer on the likes of Emmanuel Adebayor, Carlos Tevez, Roque Santa Cruz and Gareth Barry.

And it was reported Hughes, who was a team-mate of Terry’s during his playing career at Stamford Bridge, was willing to pay the centre-half £200,000 (€231,000) a week to convince him to move to Eastlands.

But Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti said in his first media conference that he would not consider selling Terry, and the player himself has now moved to end the speculation “once and for all’’.

The statement read: “There has been a lot of speculation recently about my future and I want to clear this up once and for all. I am totally committed to Chelsea and always have been.

“Chelsea have also made it clear to me consistently that there was never any intention to accept any kind of offer.”

Terry admitted to having a high regard for Hughes but decided to make public his determination to stay with Chelsea after “numerous discussions’’’ with owner Roman Abramovich convinced him that the Russian’s ambitions matched his own.

The defender wanted to be assured that he and other key personnel would be secured.

Terry has also said he was impressed by Ancelotti’s appointment as manager.

The statement continued: “When you are linked with any club or with a manager who I have huge respect for, it will always make headlines but me leaving Chelsea was never a possibility. I know there has been comment that I should have made a statement earlier.

“However, throughout this period there have been numerous discussions between myself, the owner and the Chelsea board and we all agreed that the timing of any statement would suit everyone involved in those talks, not any outside influences or agendas.

“What is clear to me following those discussions is that Chelsea’s ambition remains as high as ever.

“This has been further proved by the appointment of Carlo Ancelotti. I am certain that he will take this club on to the next level.

“Another important factor was knowing that Chelsea would be securing key current players for the long term. The strengthening of the squad around this core is crucial to pushing us on to greater success.

“I am as committed as ever to helping drive Chelsea forward and I will be proud to lead the team as long as I can.”

Former Chelsea manager Guus Hiddink expected Terry to remain with the London club.

The Dutchman, who led the club in a caretaker capacity from February until the end of the season before returning to his full-time role as Russia coach, said: “It depends always on the circumstances within the club and City have a lot of ambition. They want to be competitive with the top four.

“I haven’t spoken with John, but if the team is competitive enough there shouldn’t be any concern at Chelsea.”

Meanwhile, Ancelotti does not expect City to be in a position to mount a title challenge this season despite the raft of big-money signings that have been added to Hughes’ squad.

He said: “Manchester City have bought a lot of players and maybe they are an important team, but Manchester United have more experience. For the title, I don’t know. They are a new team, with a lot of players to try to find a good solution on the pitch. I don’t know if this year they can be ready for the title.”