John Terry sends condolences to Rio Ferdinand after tragic death of QPR defender's wife, Rebecca Ellison

Terry and Ferdinand have a fractured relationship but the Chelse captain wanted to pass on his best on behalf of the London club at a difficult time

Rio Ferdinand and John Terry played alongside each other with England (Getty Images)

Chelsea captain John Terry offered his condolences to former England team-mate Rio Ferdinand following the tragic death of his wife, Rebecca Ellison.

35-year-old Ellison had been diagnosed with breast cancer, and Ferdinand announced through a statement released by his club Queens Park Rangers that she had “passed away peacefully after a short battle with cancer”.

Chelsea secured the Premier League title on Sunday with a 1-0 victory over Crystal Palace, and speaking to Sky Sports after the match, Terry past on his sympathies to Ferdinand on behalf of the newly-crowned champions.

“I would like, on behalf of myself and everyone at Chelsea, to send our condolences to Rio Ferdinand and his family,” said Terry.

The two were England’s first choice centre-backs under England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson but their relationship fell apart after Terry was banned for four matches by the FA when they found him guilty of racially abusing Ferdinand’s brother, Anton.

John Terry has passed on his condolences to Rio Ferdinand (Getty Images)

Just last week, Ferdinand admitted that while he and Terry no longer get on, he still respects him as a footballer for what he has achieved, and Terry joined the vast majority of the football community to send messages of support to Ferdinand and his family at a difficult time.

Queens Park Rangers players wore black armbands for Ferdinand in their defeat to Liverpool on Saturday, with Reds captain Steven Gerrard giving a bouquet of flowers to Rangers captain Joey Barton before kick-of on behalf of the Merseyside club.

John Terry celebrates the Premier League title success with Cesar Azpilicueta (Getty Images)

In the day’s evening kick-off, Ferdinand’s former club Manchester United took on West Brom with both sets of players sporting black armbands, and a minutes’ applause was held in the fifth minute to recognise Ferdinand’s shirt number during his days at Old Trafford, with chants of “Rio, Rio, Rio” filling the stadium.

Rebecca Ellison died after a short battle with cancer (Twitter/@rioferdy5)

Rebecca Ellison pictured alongside Rio Ferdinand in 2013 (PA)

Gerrard presents Barton with a bouquet of flowers (Getty Images)

Manchester United fans applaud to pay their respects (Getty Images)

Ferdinand’s sister Sian took to Twitter to thank everyone who had sent the family support, and insisted that they had taken notice of the kind gestures.

“Just want to say a huge Thankyou for the love and support our family has received. It hasn't gone unnoticed & we appreciate it all,” she said.

Fer reveals message of support for his team-mate Ferdinand (Reuters)

Ferdinand's QPR team-mate Leroy Fer also unveiled a message on his shirt after scoring against Liverpool, which read: "Stay strong family Ferdinand."