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John Terry offered one-year contract to stay at Chelsea after being on verge of exit

Terry is considering an offer from the club with his current deal set to expire at the end of the current season

Jack de Menezes
Friday 13 May 2016 13:34 BST
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(Getty)

John Terry has been offered a one-year contract extension to remain at Chelsea, with the club captain currently considering the surprise move after being on the verge of leaving the club following a 18-year career with the Blues.

The news was confirmed by the club in Chelsea interim manager Guus Hiddink’s final pre-match press conference ahead of this weekend’s visit of Premier League champions Leicester City to Stamford Bridge, with the club also confirming the news on Twitter.

A post from the club read: “It is announced in the press conference that John Terry has been offered a one-year contract extension. John is considering the offer. #CFC”

Before Hiddink spoke, a Chelsea spokesperson said: "(Director) Marina Granovskaia and (chairman) Bruce Buck met with John and his agent this week and offered him a one-year contract extension.

"With it coming so late in the season, this is a big decision for John and his family and it is something that they are now considering."

Terry announced that the club had not offered him a new contract back in January, revealing that he was expecting to leave the club at the end of the season. Fans were left deeply unhappy with the uncertainty surrounding Terry’s farewell, although that no appears to have unfolded due to the possibility of the former England captain remaining at Stamford Bridge for another year.

Terry will not play in this Sunday’s Premier League finale against champions Leicester after he picked up a two-match suspension for being sent-off against Sunderland, having picked up a two-match ban for his second dismissal of the season.

Twenty, 21 years at the club is huge. That's why they become legends. You must cherish those legends for the future as well.

&#13; <p>Guus Hiddink</p>&#13;

The news comes after Chelsea withdrew a tribute to Terry from their end-of-season awards ceremony, scheduled for Friday night, which fuelled speculation that the 34-year-old will remain with the club.

One man who is leaving though is Hiddink, and he admitted that the match with Leicester will prove to be an emotional affair as he says goodbye to the club for a second time, with Antonio Conte poised to take over next season. Hiddink, who confirmed that Chelsea will give former manager Claudio Ranieri a guard of honour along with is players, said that he was pleased Terry had been offered the deal and labelled the defender a “legend” of Chelsea’s history.

"It's good to have big players in a club who are big personalities," Hiddink said.

"I'm always in favour, generally, that players, ex-players - I'm not talking about John now - are having a lot of influence in the culture of the club.

&#13; Terry will miss the final game of the season through suspension &#13; (Getty)

"Maybe, I don't know when, in the future, it's also for John.”

He added: "Twenty, 21 years at the club is huge. That's why they become legends. You must cherish those legends for the future as well."

Addressing his time in charge since replacing Jose Mourinho in December, Hiddink said he did not need to think twice when the offer to return to the club arrived, and he called on the squad to improve matters next season to return the club to where they once were.

"When they asked me (to take over on an interim basis), I didn't think much to say yes or no, because of my affection for the club," Hiddink said.

"I was very pleased I could do it and was asked. Of course, I would've loved, come the escape from the relegation zone, I would've loved to go to the FA Cup final, to go to at least one or two more rounds of the Champions League, but we could not fulfil that.

"In general I'm happy with this last half-year. I did it with a lot of joy.

&#13; Terry could stay at Chelsea after being offered a new deal &#13; (Getty)

"For Chelsea standards it has been a season with deception. We managed to come back and we're happy to, but it's not enough for Chelsea standards.

"It's now relatively quiet in the club. We have to go on and be very competitive next season."

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