John Terry reveals father wanted him to sign for Manchester United

Follow us on

Former Chelsea defender John Terry has revealed that his father never wanted him to sign for Chelsea but Manchester United instead.

Terry had the option of choosing between multiple top clubs in England at the tender age of 14 and he opted for the Blues despite his father favouring the Red Devils.

"I had the option between Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United and to be fair all of them went above and beyond," Terry said on Footballer's Guide to Football Podcast as per Daily Mail.

"The moment I walked into Chelsea, it just felt right. I know that's going to sound really bizarre.

"Again, my dad never wanted me to sign for Chelsea. Actually, on the pitch of me signing my schoolboy form at the club, my dad refused to go on the pitch with me.

"I'm in the tunnel, the players are coming off the pitch and I'm waiting in the tunnel, Glenn Hoddle goes past and my dad's going, 'You're not signing for this football club, we should sign for Manchester United'.

Terry revealed his father went up to the extent of not going with him for contract signing as he kept on insisting that he was making a big mistake.

"Again, me being me at the time I'm going, 'I'm 100 per cent I'm signing here, if you don't come out with me I'm going out to sign'. You needed a parent, so my mum said she would come and sign it with me, my dad's going mad at my mum, 'No you won't'.

"There's a picture of my mum and Graham Rix signing my contract, but my dad refused and absolutely kicked off that night. Again, me being the character I was, I knew Chelsea was right for me."

The choice at such an tender age proved to be a masterstroke for Terry as he ended up playing 717 matches for the west-London club.