John Terry's wife Toni (left) says she wants a
divorce. Terry looked drawn during his match at Turf Moor Stadium
in Burnley on Saturday (right)
John
Terry is fighting for both his marriage and the
England
captaincy
after a turbulent weekend of revelations about his affair with a
team-mate's ex-partner.
The footballer's wife has fled
their £4million home telling friends she would divorce him over his
affair with lingerie model Vanessa Perroncel - her
former close friend and neighbour.
And Terry, 29, was revealed to
have arranged for his mistress to undergo an abortion after she
became pregnant during their relationship.
There was a lack of public
support for the
Chelsea
defender from the Football
Association and senior figures in the footballing world, while
Sports Minister Gerry Sutcliffe said the affair 'called into
question' his position as captain.
Terry's latest in a long list
of infidelities was exposed on Friday when a High Court judge
overturned an injunction forbidding publication of details of his
philandering.
Football insiders said his
behaviour had divided the England squad, with some arguing that
he should be stripped of both the captaincy and his place in the
national side.
Relief: John Terry scored Chelsea's winner against
Burnley on Saturday
There is
a strong belief among fans that he has caused irreparable damage
to England's chances of success at the
World Cup in South Africa
this
summer.
As his 28-year-old wife Toni
departed the family home in Surrey with their twin children, she
told friends: 'He's humiliated me for ten years. But no more. This
time I'm going to divorce him.'
Sources close to Terry said
that he was continuing to deny to his wife that he had been
unfaithful with Miss Perroncel.
Women linked to John Terry include, from left, Karina
Clarke, Linsey Dawn McKenzie, Lauren Pope and Nicola Ulian
Preparing to break her silence: Vanessa Perroncel
at the weekend
He
started the affair after Bridge, who had lived on the same estate
as the Terrys, signed for Manchester
City
and moved
to a house in Cheshire
leaving his
partner and mother of their three-year-old son
behind.
Miss Perroncel reportedly
became pregnant within weeks and friends said the termination was
arranged by Terry and took place at a private clinic under
clandestine circumstances in October.
She arrived and left the clinic
via a back door, while the operation was reportedly delayed so
Terry could attend after a training session.
When Terry finally told his
wife, she immediately rang her former best friend to confront
her.
A friend said: 'It was a real
shouting match between the two of them. They were both ranting and
swearing down the phone. But Vanessa just denied there was an
affair.'
Another source said that Toni
told Vanessa: 'Call yourself a friend? What sort of friend sleeps
with their mate's husband?'
The £170,000-a-week
Chelsea
star is worth an
estimated £25million with lucrative marketing and media
contracts.
With Toni entitled to half of
his fortune, both now and in the future, it could be the
biggest-ever divorce settlement in UK sport.
As further details of Terry's
relationship with Miss Perroncel emerged, she spent two hours with
publicist Max Clifford last night discussing how she might break
her silence on the affair.
But the impact the scandal is
having on the England squad was immediately apparent
with reports that Bridge is understood to have told friends and
family that he will not play for his country while Terry remains
the captain.
Others of his team-mates have
reacted with fury at Terry's behaviour, calling him 'scum' and
describing his actions as 'immoral and unforgivable'.
