Former England captain Terry retires from football

Former England captain John Terry announced his retirement from football on Sunday with the central defender now set to pursue a career in management.

The 37-year-old, who spent the bulk of his career with Chelsea, captained second-tier Aston Villa last season.

Now the Birmingham club reportedly want him to join their coaching staff as part of a new-look set-up, with Thierry Henry in the running to take over as manager at Villa Park after Steve Bruce was sacked earlier this week.

“After 23 incredible years as a footballer, I have decided now is the right time to retire from playing,” Terry said in a message posted on his Instagram account.

Terry, capped 78 times by England, recently rejected a chance to play for Spartak Moscow, saying a move to Russia was not right for his family.

His last game as a professional was Villa’s 1-0 Championship play-off final defeat by Fulham in May — a loss that denied Villa a return to the Premier League.

But his club career will be best remembered for his time at Chelsea where he won five Premier League titles, five FA Cups, as well as the Champions League and Europa League, although he did not play in the two European finals.

Terry made 717 appearances for Chelsea, scoring 67 goals, and was widely regarded as one of the best English centre-halves of his generation.