Aston Villa part ways with club captain John Terry

Today, in news that ‘nobody’ saw coming, Aston Villa FC have announced that John Terry will be leaving the club with the expiration of his one-year contract.

The club released a minuscule statement:

‘Aston Villa can confirm the club will part company with John Terry. We would like to place on record our most sincere thanks for the effort and professionalism he showed with us last season. John is a true leader and was everything and more that we hoped. Hugely popular and influential in the dressing room, he played a real captain’s role in creating the incredible bond the players shared with our supporters, and vice-versa. We hope he looks back on his time with Villa fondly and we wish him the very best as his career moves forward.’

Terry was a devoted servant to Aston Villa in his single season, and showed an incredible eagerness to get Villa back into the Premier League. Fans grew to the player after an early-season injury cut him down, but despite that - Terry was shown training day after day to get back into the team and lead from the back.

Despite his age, it’s still a cutting blow to Villa, who are now a centre-back down - with no clear deputy apart from Mile Jedinak or Tommy Elphick - two players who have been used as rotational options throughout last season. A replacement will have to be sought out, but with what money?

Still, Villa needed to clear some money off of the books and it is assumed that the former England captain is Villa’s highest earner at the moment.

It’s been rather surreal, hasn’t it? Seeing John Terry captain Aston Villa? It’s all over now, though - and Terry is free to make his next move.