JOHN TERRY has revealed how Rafa Benitez tried to get him booted out of Chelsea after the Spaniard was appointed interim manager in November 2012.
The Blues legend said Benitez even went to then-owner Roman Abramovich and told him the centreback was “finished” at Stamford Bridge.
John Terry revealed how Rafa Benitez tried to get him axed from ChelseaNews Group Newspapers Ltd
Terry said he got ‘goosebumps’ when he heard Jose Mourinho was returning in 2013Getty Images – Getty
Benitez – who was a shock choice to take over from Roberto Di Matteo – lasted just six months at Stamford Bridge, regularly leaving club captain Terry on the bench during his spell in charge.
In Ellie Collins’ YouTube show You Free Friday?, Terry tells how the return of Jose Mourinho to Chelsea the following season proved Benitez totally wrong.
The Blues won the title in 2014-15 and the centre-back was an ever-present.
Terry said: “The year before Benitez was in charge and he actually tried to get me out of the football club at the time.
“So Rafa tried to tell the owners I couldn’t play two games a week. I had a year left on my contract and I was finished.
“I was in Portugal at the time, and Mourinho called me and said ‘JT, I’m coming back’. It was just goosebumps.
“He said ‘They’ve all been telling me you’re finished – you’re my captain, but we’re going back and we’re going to win the league’. It’s actually quite emotional.
“When he said it to me, I was like ‘ wow, that’s powerful, it’s me and you against the world again, let’s go again’. Because that’s the mentality he brought before.”
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The 2011/12 season saw Chelsea win the Champions League for the first time, with Terry playing in eight of the side’s 13 games.
But the arrival of Benitez saw Terry dropped for much of the 2012/13 season.
He did score a vital goal in the second leg of the UEFA Europa League round of 16 tie against Steaua Bucharest, a game Chelsea won 3-1.
Chelsea won the trophy against Benfica in the final, with Benitez leaving at the end of that season.
The return of Mourinho in 2013 saw Terry back in the starting line-up, and in 2015 he helped the club to the Premier League title, their first for five years.
Terry revealed he was sharing a bottle of wine with his wife Toni when he got the news from Mourinho about his comeback.
He added: “We were halfway through it, but then it was ‘ I’m not drinking, that’s it’.
“I woke up the following day and for the rest of the holiday, the next ten days, I was running morning, afternoon and night.
“I went back so fit, we won the league and I played every minute of every game.
“It was pretty special and a big two fingers up to a lot of people who had written me off at the time. Again that man believed in me more than anyone.”