Returning to Chelsea to hold an interview with John Terry, William Gallas only had lovely things to say about the former England captain, and the man himself was also full of praise for his former teammate who helped him so much in his early years.
Breaking through at Stamford Bridge when the likes of Marcel Desailly, Frank Leboeuf and William Gallas were in the latter parts of their careers, Terry revealed he would eternally be grateful for everything he learnt from the trio, in an interview published on Chelsea’s website.
He said: “When Marcel [Desailly] arrived, I told him ‘You’ll see, the next one behind us, it’s Terry. He’s a phenomenon, he trains in shorts and a t-shirt in the winter, he’s not scared of anything, and be careful because regardless of who you are, if he wants to tackle, he’ll tackle’.”
The former Chelsea defender continued by explaining Claudio Ranieri, who was manager at Stamford Bridge at the time, was trying to push Terry through, something Leboeuf understood, with his cycle coming to an end, even if it meant he ended up playing right-back instead.
The 1998 World Cup winner also revealed that when his time to leave the club finally came, he took Terry to one side, and asked him for one thing in particular.
He said: “I told him ‘Listen mate, it’s your turn. Show us what you can do’. I don’t think he could have granted me my wish any better. I don’t know how many titles he has. He wasn’t being nice because it was a French TV station interviewing him either.
“It’s true that he’s gone over the top at times, but he never forgot the principles we talked about before, that he knew how to listen to the older guys and use it to improve himself. For me, it’s an honour to hear that from John Terry.”
Fourteen trophies later, it’s fair to say Terry got the message.
