Chelsea legend John Terry recently named his all-time Blues XI. The former defender picked some of the club's best players in history, including legendary forward Didier Drogba and Eden Hazard.
As part of the club's program to mark its 120th anniversary, fans were asked to vote for their best Chelsea XI of all-time in a campaign titled - The Team of 120. In an interview with the club's website, Terry, who spent almost two decades playing for the west London club, picked his all-time XI in a 4-3-3 setup.
For his goalkeeper, Terry picked Petr Cech. He hailed the former shot-stopper as world-class, citing their relationship and success together at the club as the reason for choosing him.
At right-back and left-back, he opted for Cesar Azpilicueta and Ashley Cole, respectively. Terry picked Marcel Desailly and Thiago Silva as his center-back pairing despite not sharing the pitch with the latter.
In midfield, the former Chelsea skipper outrightly named the club's record goalscorer Frank Lampard alongside Claude Makelele and Cesc Fabregas. Terry referred to Hazard as the Blues 'most talented player' as he lined the Belgian in attack with Gianfranco Zola, and legendary striker Drogba.
John Terry, meanwhile, is widely regarded as one the best players in Chelsea's history. He spent 19 seasons at Stamford Bridge and registered 67 goals and 27 assists in 717 games. He is the club's most successful player and longest-serving captain.
Ex-Chelsea defender John Terry labels Cole Palmer a leader amid dip in form
Chelsea great John Terry has labeled Cole Palmer as a leader at the club amid his dip in form. Palmer joined the Blues from Manchester City in the summer of 2023 for a reported £42.5 million.
In his first season at the club, the Englishman was arguably his side's best player. He scored 27 goals and provided 15 assists in 48 matches across competitions.
Palmer started the 2024-25 campaign in top form, scoring 14 goals and six assists in as many games. However, he has failed to register a goal contribution in his last seven league outings.
Speaking recently to the Sun, Terry excused Plamer for his dip in form and labeled him as a leader due to his standards. He said:
“He probably doesn't think: 'I'm a leader here', but he's leading the group with his standards - 'This is the standard you probably need to get up to. You need to get as fit as me'. From afar people look at captains and leadership as if you've got to be that big vocal guy, screaming, shouting, barking orders. I think it's very different now."
"A lot of players now do it in the way they're playing. He certainly falls under that category. Cole's probably leading the way he likes to lead. He's been incredible for us. He's taken a lot of the heat in terms of our dip, but also in terms of our first part of the season," Terry added.
"It was probably all him, with his goals, contributions, work rate. Everything Chelsea were doing well revolved around him. Teams have obviously identified that he's the big threat and there needs to be a real focus," he concluded.
Palmer missed Chelsea's last league match against Arsenal due to a muscle injury. It's unknown whether he will be back to full fitness for the Blues' next game against Tottenham Hotspur at home in the league on April 3.