Chelsea legend John Terry has spoken of his pride after being inducted into the Premier League Hall of Fame following a glittering playing career.
Terry has been recognised for his amazing career which saw him win five Premier League titles and make 492 appearances for the Blues.
The club legend is still the highest scoring defender in the competition’s history, and he joins former team-mates Ashley Cole, Petr Cech, Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba in the Hall of Fame.
The 43-year-old spoke of his delight at bring inducted and how much it means to receive recognition from his peers and supporters.
“I am delighted and grateful to join the Premier League Hall of Fame”, Terry told Chelsea’s official website.
“To be recognised by your peers and the supporters is special. For me, it is the best league in the world, so I’m very proud of what I achieved alongside my teammates.
“I fell in love with football at a young age and it’s emotional to reflect on the time spent playing. It has been an incredible journey.
“At the time you’re not thinking let’s do this to become part of the Hall of Fame, you just want to work hard and try to win and to be remembered as someone who gave their all for the team and the supporters.
“I’d like to thank my parents, Toni, Georgie & Summer for supporting me throughout my career and understanding the sacrifices as a family we had to make.”
The former Chelsea captain also opened up on the people who shaped and influenced his career.
“There are a few people I have to thank”, Terry added.
“First of all, Gianluca Vialli, for trusting me at a very young age to be part of the first-team group and giving me my debut at the club. The second would be Claudio Rainieri for making me captain when he did.
“Top of that list has to go José Mourinho. I think everyone knows how I feel about him as a manager, but as a person he was fantastic as well.
“I’d had my dad and my mum believing in me the whole way, but having him doing the same thing was really, really powerful for me and the whole group at the time.”