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Chelsea captain John Terry doesn’t deserve a fairy tale ending

By Rucker Haringey

MILTON KEYNES, ENGLAND - JANUARY 31: John Terry of Chelsea is filmed by the television camera as he comes off the pitch after the Emirates FA Cup match between MK Dons and Chelsea at Stadium mk on January 31, 2016 in Milton Keynes, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images)
MILTON KEYNES, ENGLAND - JANUARY 31: John Terry of Chelsea is filmed by the television camera as he comes off the pitch after the Emirates FA Cup match between MK Dons and Chelsea at Stadium mk on January 31, 2016 in Milton Keynes, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images) /
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John Terry has revealed he likely won’t be able to complete his Chelsea fairy tale and retire as a one-club man

Chelsea captain John Terry has long hoped he’d be able to retire from the club on his own terms. He revealed yesterday that he likely won’t get his wish. Many Chelsea fans are aghast upon hearing this news, but he doesn’t deserve a fairy tale ending at Stamford Bridge.

Don’t get me wrong, Terry’s performance on the pitch for Chelsea has been spectacular over the years. He’s led his side to almost every achievement imaginable during his tenure and deserves to be considered one of Chelsea’s all-time greats. It’s his off-the-pitch career that costs him is right to a fairy tale ending for me.

Everyone is entitled to make mistakes in their personal life, but by the same token, they have to claim responsibility for their actions. Terry has made several mistakes that rob him of any moral high ground as it pertains to the end of his career.

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First, there’s his truly heinous incident with Anton Ferdinand in October of 2012. His racist comments towards Ferdinand led to a four game ban from the FA and a fine of over 200 thousand pounds. That’s the type of mistake you just can’t make if you expect to get the benefit of the doubt from people late in your career. That overt racism would be enough for me to lose all compassion for Terry’s fairy tale career ending, but there’s even more to view with disdain.

It was revealed in January of 2010 by The Daily Mail that Terry had impregnated England teammate Wayne Bridge’s girlfriend and assisted her with an abortion. No matter what your views are on the termination of the pregnancy, the adultery alone is reprehensible. Remember, he conducted the affair while he was married himself. Additionally, he was the England captain at the time.

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Terry’s lack of a moral compass (that’s an exceedingly nice way of putting it for the record) means I don’t have any sympathy for him when it comes to the circumstances around his retirement. I can appreciate his play on the field while still finding his behavior off the pitch completely reprehensible.

Frankly, I think it would be fitting if he had to finish his career in some obscure Middle Eastern football league. At the very least, he deserves to sweat out a few years in Dubai. Perhaps he’d enjoy a nice Chinese contract for the twilight of his career.

The point is that he doesn’t deserve any special consideration from fans based on the balance of his career. Football is a business and only the truly elite players AND people deserve to have their careers end on their own terms. I felt sympathy for Steven Gerrard not being able to leave Liverpool on his own terms. I have no such sympathy for John Terry.

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John Terry had a great career on the pitch at Chelsea and deserves the adoration of their fans. However, his off-the-pitch errors completely rob him of the moral right to end his career on his own terms.

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