John Terry has taken a swipe at Arsenal following Morgan Rogers' £117 million transfer to Chelsea, suggesting the midfielder chose a club with a proven Champions League pedigree. The former Blues captain made the remarks during an appearance on Piers Morgan Uncensored, shortly after Rogers was officially unveiled as Chelsea's third summer signing.
Rogers joins Chelsea after Arsenal interest
The 23-year-old England international had been identified as Arsenal's primary transfer target after an impressive season with Aston Villa, where he scored ten goals and provided six assists in the Premier League. Rogers also played a key role in Villa's Europa League triumph, scoring and assisting Youri Tielemans in the final against Freiburg, ending the club's 30-year trophy drought.
Despite Arsenal's apparent pole position, Chelsea outmanoeuvred their London rivals, and Rogers underwent a medical on Monday after returning from the World Cup. He was officially announced 24 hours later, joining Marco Palestra and Geovany Quenda at Stamford Bridge. The fee surpasses the £107m Chelsea paid for Enzo Fernandez three years ago.
Terry's dig at Arsenal
When asked about the transfer, Terry said: 'The numbers are inflated, that's not the player's issue for me.' He then aimed a barb at Arsenal, adding: 'He's obviously joined a club that has the potential of winning the Champions League and has a history of winning the Champions League, hence he's gone for us over the red side of London, Piers.'
Terry continued: 'To be honest, if you're him, you'd have probably gone Arsenal so the numbers must have been pretty big. But I'm excited to have him, I think he's a good player. I think he's going to give us better than what we've got at the moment, I think he's a good addition to the squad and I'm actually excited to see him.'
Terry on player motivations
Addressing whether players prioritise money over trophies, Terry reflected on his own career: 'I was at Chelsea from the age of 14 so you end up falling in love with your football club. You have a rapport and a relationship like no other so I can't speak for 95 per cent of the players that are probably looking at this differently to the way I felt.'
He added: 'I never wanted to leave Chelsea. Saying that, we had an owner that had big and deep pockets, I was offered contracts that were the equivalent of other clubs around me and I was paid money that I probably wouldn't have got elsewhere. It's a really unfair question to ask me without being too loyal, I love Chelsea and Chelsea is my club so for me, I don't get it. But if you don't have that relationship like I had, I can also understand it.'
Cucurella departure disappoints Terry
While pleased with Rogers' arrival, Terry expressed sadness over Marc Cucurella's move to Real Madrid earlier this summer. 'When he got his move to Real Madrid I said this, I said I was really disappointed,' he said. 'I think about one-on-one defensively, we spoke about the battles he has with Bukayo Saka. Everything I see as a Chelsea fan now, I see in him as a defender: aggressive, in people's faces, wanting to win, he cares.'
Terry added: 'I see him around the training ground, he's a winner and we've lost a World Cup winner.' He predicted that Jose Mourinho will 'love' Cucurella at Madrid, calling the defender 'an incredible player, a really good person' and noting that 'Jose Mourinho is going to love him at Real Madrid. He's right up his street.'
