Steven Gerrard claims there's 'friction behind the scenes' between Chelsea captain John Terry and manager Jose Mourinho

Former Liverpool captain was speaking on BT Sport

(Reuters)

Former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard expressed his surprise at John Terry not starting for Chelsea against Maccabi Tel-Aviv, and believes there is something going on "behind the scenes".

Speaking as a pundit at Stamford Bridge, Gerrard says that Chelsea "need Terry" playing if they are to be successful.

"There's certainly a bit of friction behind the scenes because for me, you play John Terry week in, week out, he's your captain," he told BT Sport.

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"He's such an important figure in the dressing room and if Chelsea want to be successful this season, they need him in there.

"‘Chelsea were champions three months ago, they were the best team in the league, the PFA player of the year in Eden Hazard and Cesc Fabregas was on fire.

"Something’s clearly happening behind the scene that we’re not clued up on. You can’t have that many problems in a XI so quickly."

Fellow pundit Rio Ferdinand agreed that Terry should be playing.

He added: "I would have thought John Terry would have started today, he's their leader, he's their captain and you need to get off to a good start."