Going nowhere: Carlo Ancelotti insists that captain
John Terry will be staying at Stamford Bridge
Carlo Ancelotti claims it is 'impossible' for Manchester
City to sign John Terry and insists his iconic skipper is more
motivated by success at Stamford Bridge than the millions on offer
at Eastlands.
Ancelotti was grilled on the subject of Terry's future at his
unveiling as Chelsea manager. And displaying an already impressive
command of English, the Italian was adamant Terry will see out his
career at the club despite not having spoken to him for a
month.
He said: 'It's impossible that he'd want to leave. There's no
need to convince him because he wants to stay. He stays here for
sure. I don't worry. Terry is a great player, but also a great man.
When a great man says one thing, it's that. He's not a normal
player, he's a symbol for this team.
'There is no problem. For him, for us, the story continues:
Chelsea and Terry. I like to have a captain like Terry. He is very
close to (Paolo) Maldini for professionalism and for quality.'
Urged on by Ancelotti, Chelsea yesterday stepped up their
pursuit of Carlos Tevez to put pressure on City who are also
bidding to sign the striker.
ity are expected to raise their £30million offer - which Chelsea
rejected out of hand - by a further £5m and are ready to pay the
England captain an astronomical £200,000-a-week wage packet.
Chelsea, however, are understood to be unwilling to improve on
the £130,000-a-week Terry receives under the terms of his current
deal which has three years left to run.
The power brokers at Stamford Bridge are believed to be eager
for Terry, who returns to training on Thursday, to publicly pledge
his loyalty to Chelsea, while Ancelotti's unreserved praise of the
28-year-old has certainly placed the ball firmly in the defender's
court.
Chelsea's unwillingness to do business with City for Terry was
spelled out further by their chief executive, Peter Kenyon, who
added: 'He's not available at any price.
'He's got a three-year contract. He's told us he doesn't want to
go and we don't want him to go. End of story.'
Such resistance means Terry has little option other than to hand
in a written transfer request to the club where he has spent his
entire career should he be determined to push through an extremely
lucrative move to Mark Hughes' side.
But Ancelotti, who also confirmed his intention to keep Didier
Drogba, is satisfied Terry will be eager to play for a manager who
guided Milan to two Champions League titles and - using the example
of their failed £91m bid for Kaka - questioned City's ability to
attract the cream of Europe's talent.
