One of Chelsea’s greatest-ever servants has let it be known how different things might’ve been had he been more inclined to join David Beckham at Man United.
John Terry spent his holidays at the time Beckham signed his first professional contract with the Red Devils at United, but knew that it was Chelsea he wanted to join.
“I actually went up to Man United for a year,” he said to The Footballer’s Guide to Football podcast and cited by the Daily Star.
“I was travelling up in school holidays. I actually went up with David Beckham when he signed his first pro contract.
“We went up in the car together. I was there on a two-week training camp. Malcolm Fidgeon was the Man United scout, who sadly passed away.
“I went up and stayed up for a couple of weeks every school holiday really, which was tough, being away from home. I had the option between Arsenal, Chelsea and Man United and, to be fair, all of them went above and beyond.
“The moment I walked into Chelsea, it just felt right. And that’s going to sound really bizarre. My dad never wanted me to sign for Chelsea and on the picture of me signing my schoolboy form on the pitch, my dad refused to go on the pitch with me.
“I’m not sure too many people know this story actually, but I’m in the tunnel – the players are coming off the pitch and I’m waiting in the tunnel and Glenn Hoddle goes past and my dad’s going, ‘You’re not signing for this football club. We should sign for Man United.'”
Fortunately for the Blues, Terry, even at such a young age, was showing the headstrong qualities that would hold him in good stead during his Chelsea career.
Given the influence that he had on every aspect of the Chelsea teams for which he turned out, fans of the Stamford Bridge outfit will surely be glad that he didn’t listen to the whims of his father.
Along with current Blues manager, Frank Lampard, Terry will go down in history for his endeavours and his longevity.
It will always be a question of what might’ve been for Man United, who’ve not done too badly with decent centre-halves of their own in any event.