Former Chelsea player Cesc Fabregas revealed John Terry’s final rallying cry to his team-mates at Stamford Bridge included an anti-Spurs message.
Terry left his boyhood club in 2017 before moving to Aston Villa – where he now works as assistant manager – and was keen to stress the importance of Chelsea remaining in front of Tottenham before he left.
Fabregas, the former Arsenal player who now plays for Ligue 1 team Monaco, was in the dressing room that day and revealed Terry’s message in his Telegraph column.
‘There are certain players who really feel these rivalries and will make sure they do their best to make everybody else understand,’ he wrote.
‘Before John Terry was going to play his last game for Chelsea, he made a speech in which he told the players to make sure Tottenham would never overtake Chelsea or be better than them.’
Fabregas was a player who relished the Chelsea-Tottenham rivalry and he conceded stopping them winning the Premier League gave him great satisfaction.
‘Winning a derby can feel close to winning a trophy and it was like this when I won the Battle of the Bridge with Chelsea that meant that Tottenham could not win the Premier League title in 2016,’ he added.
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‘I had been on television not long before the game and said that I did not want Tottenham to win the League, which I know upset their supporters and probably their players.
‘Sometimes as players you have to be so politically correct and speak like a politician, but I was just being honest and speaking my true feelings. I did not think I went over the top because I think people know that I don’t want Spurs winning the title, ever.
‘There were some accusations made against me after that game about me trying to provoke the Tottenham players, but, honestly, I was hit so many times in that game and I think they were just upset about the fact they had been winning.
‘Even though we had not won the game, drawing and stopping Tottenham winning the title felt similar to a trophy and I remember I went out to celebrate after the game, like I would have if we had just won the League or a cup. It was just one of those moments you wanted to enjoy.’
