John Terry Completes Aston Villa Transfer After Leaving Chelsea

Chelsea legend John Terry has joined Championship side Aston Villa. 

The move was confirmed by Villa owner and chairman Tony Xia on Monday, with Terry's glittering Blues career having come to an end at the close of the 2016-17 season:

Xia offered a dig towards local rivals Birmingham City, who were also linked with the former England captain, per BBC Sport.

Villa confirmed the deal later in the day with this clip on their official Twitter account and followed up with a snap of Terry in the club colours:

"I am delighted to join Aston Villa," Terry said per the official Villa website. "It’s a club I have admired from afar for many years—there are fantastic facilities at Bodymoor Heath, Villa Park is one of the finest stadiums in the country and there’s a good group of players here, with an experienced and successful manager in Steve Bruce."

The veteran moves to a Villa side who will be seeking to mount a push for promotion back into the Premier League. Following their relegation in 2016, the Midlands club were only able to finish 13th last season.

Matt Law of the Daily Telegraph praised the defender for joining up with Steve Bruce at Villa Park instead of taking a more lucrative contract elsewhere:

Terry joined the Blues' youth ranks in 1995 and made over 700 senior appearances for the west London club, winning five Premier League titles, five FA Cups, a UEFA Champions League and a UEFA Europa League. The 36-year-old became Chelsea captain in 2004. 

Terry was nearing a departure from Chelsea at the end of 2015-16 but was eventually awarded a one-year contract extension to take him through to the end of the 2016-17 term.

It always seemed likely that would mark the final deal he was offered by Chelsea, and so it proved.

Michael Regan/Getty Images

He has been a phenomenal servant to the club over the last two decades, but his role had become more limited under manager Antonio Conte.

Terry started four Premier League games at the beginning of the 2016-17 campaign but then suffered an injury. In his absence, Conte altered his system to a 3-4-3 formation, in which there was no space for the veteran when he returned to action.

The former England international has lost much of the sharpness that previously made him one of the best centre-backs in the world.

But his immense experience should make him a huge asset at Villa, likely his final destination before he calls time on a hugely successful playing career.