Gary Neville questions timing of Terry’s Chelsea announcement

John Terry: Decision criticised by Gary Neville

Gary Neville has blasted Chelsea and John Terry for announcing his plans to leave now, claiming the decision is a distraction for their title-chasing squad.

News of Terry’s imminent exit from Stamford Bridge comes at a curious time, 24 hours after Chelsea were beaten 2-0 at Manchester United, a result which opens up the Premier League title race.

Terry’s former England team-mate Gary Neville questioned the timing of the announcement and believes the 36-year-old still has a part to play this season.

“The news of Terry leaving is incredibly strange timing, I don’t get it at all,” Neville told Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football.

“I’m not really sure who it suits, maybe John Terry a little bit, but I’m not even sure about that.

“It may be a distraction for the dressing room, the club and the fans will be sad today especially after the big game they lost yesterday. Maybe he’s signed a pre-agreement with somebody and they couldn’t keep it quiet any longer.”

Neville added: “They haven’t kept a clean sheet for quite a bit now and I think he could be quite useful for them.

“If they needed someone with experience in this last month to get them over the line, he might be the man they need to call on.

“He’s got the experience, the resilience, the robustness and that toughness which would get his team-mates over line. He may be Chelsea’s most important player in the next few weeks.”