England

Chelsea's Terry Denies Makelele's Claims That He Was Behind Mourinho's Sacking

The Blues skipper denies the allegations that he was behind the Portuguese's exit from Stamford Bridge.

Jul 2, 2009 4:31:19 PM

Dismissed: Chelsea captain John Terry in disbelief as his late red card against Manchester City looked set to rule him out of the clash with Manchester United. He has since successfully appealed the ban.

Teams

Players

Chelsea captain John Terry, 28, has denied former team-mate Claude Makelele's accusations that it was he who was responsible for the sacking of former manager Jose Mourinho.

Terry feels Makelele's allegations are "bizarre" and "strange", suggesting that if he did have the power, then he would have acted alternatively, as he, along with Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba, pleaded with wealthy Russian owner Roman Abramovich to keep the charismatic Mourinho.

"It was very bizarre and very strange that Claude Makelele blamed me for Mourinho's departure because I have told every Chelsea fan and I have told Mourinho that I have never had a better manger than him in my career," Terry told talkSPORT magazine.

"For people to question me and say I had the power first and foremost to get rid of the manager...trust me, if I did have that power I would have changed an awful lot of things a long time ago.

"I was never asked about the decision regarding Mourinho. I was the one on the phone along with Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba at 02:00 or 03:00 in the morning, to Roman Abramovich trying to persuade him to keep him," he clarified.

There have been repeated claims in the mainstream media, from a variety of Blues alumni, who declare that player power is prevalent at Stamford Bridge.

Former manager Luiz Felipe Scolari, for instance, stated earlier in the week that he felt a trident of senior Chelsea players were behind his departure, including goalkeeper Petr Cech, midfield enforcer Michael Ballack and powerful forward Didier Drogba.

Alan Dawson, Goal.com