Terry reveals Roman rule kept him at Chelsea

Chelsea captain John Terry admits Blues owner Roman Abramovich played a key role in persuading him to reject Manchester City’s blockbuster bid.

City offered 30 million pounds (50 million dollars) for Terry and were prepared to make the Chelsea and England captain the highest paid player in the Premier League on wages of 250,000 pounds (412,000 dollars) a week.

After spending his whole career at Stamford Bridge, the centre-back did consider whether it was time for a change, but Abramovich’s personal intervention was enough to keep him in west London.

The Russian rarely speaks in public but he was quick to reassure his star player that he intends to give new boss Carlo Ancelotti funds to keep Chelsea in contention for the title and that convinced Terry to stay.

“Of course I thought about things, I was very flattered City wanted to sign me,” Terry told The Sun.

“But when you get a call from your own club saying no matter what money they won’t sell you, it’s unbelievable. And to hear it from the owner himself – that’s the kind of relationship you can’t buy.

“You can’t put a price on things like that and all the lads and the staff were all around me.

“The manager as well, friends and family all know my situation. They know I love the club so much, and that side of things, so it’s never an issue.

“So it’s nice to be able to talk to friends and family and know you’ll get honest answers.”

The 28-year-old is likely to be rewarded for his loyalty with an improved contract putting him on parity with Frank Lampard, the club’s highest paid player on around 150,000 pounds a week.

Terry believes Abramovich’s desire for success is as strong as when he bought the club in 2003 and he hopes to build his own relationship with the Russian in years to come.

“It is strange actually because never before have myself and Frank (Lampard) and people like Didier (Drogba) had that communication with him,” Terry said.

“Mr Abramovich is a very successful businessman and makes all the final decisions. He likes to have the opinion of the players.

“We are the ones living and breathing the football life and he can make a really small improvement for us on or off the pitch if he tries to do it.

“And he wants to know the feedback from the lads – what is working and what’s not.

“It’s hard sometimes because people think me and other key players in the team are going in and demanding this and that.

“But when you’ve got someone coming in after games demanding to know why we didn’t play well and why we didn’t score two or three goals or why this happened or that happened, you can sit down and talk a bit.

“It’s great because he understands football. He watches so many games and understands the game very well and he has put an awful lot in.

“He wants to know why and how we can improve, all the time. I think it’s great we can have that relationship with him.”