This whole occasion degenerated into a dissection of the body language of a player who had not even taken part. John Terry, not for the first time over an 18-year senior Chelsea career, took centre stage here having led a rather sheepish post-match lap of appreciation and taken the microphone to address the home support.
The message he delivered has been heard plenty of times before, except the part congratulating Leicester City and Claudio Ranieri on their Premier League title success. But, as ever, the timing added resonance.
Terry pledged that the club he joined at 14 would “be back next year and fighting for the title”. That drew wild cheers, not for the tone of defiance but for the implication he would still be among their number when Antonio Conte starts pre-season preparations in mid-July, a fortnight after the expiry of his current contract.
“This season has been tough for me, very emotional... Chelsea is my life, as it is yours,” he said. “You’ve been a big part of the best moments of my life inside this stadium.”
The praise he subsequently lavished on Guus Hiddink, pointing out the “grace” with which the Dutchman had conducted himself over a second spell in interim charge, was swiftly drowned out as a chorus of “we want you to stay” swept round the arena. Cue tears stinging his eyes. Then came the crux. “We all want the same thing,” he said. “For a very long time I’ve said I want to be here for the rest of my career. We’ve had a few days speaking to the club, and I want to stay. The club knows that. The fans know that. I want to stay.”
That drew applause not least from a beaming Roman Abramovich, surveying the scene from his box up in the west stand. Yet it did not necessarily add anything new. The offer of a new one-year contract has been on the table since Wednesday, the terms of which are clearly inferior to those being proposed by clubs in China. Terry’s heart will always be to stay. At 35, and in the likelihood of having to endure a reduced role in the side next year, his head could yet tell him the time has come to move on. Perhaps there is still scope to renegotiate the offer. The next few days or weeks should provide proper clarity.
Terry’s domestic season ended with him being granted the bumps by his team-mates out on the turf. As bizarre as it was for a suspended player to draw such focus, Chelsea’s other players were probably privately relieved they could shuffle around the pitch almost unnoticed in the captain’s shadow given how underwhelming this campaign has been. In that respect it was appropriate this was an occasion when the football felt incidental. When the home fans were not bellowing support for Terry, chorusing his name and holding up his number in the 26th minute, they were serenading Leicester’s staggering achievement in wresting away their Premier League title, or welcoming Ranieri back to familiar haunts.
The Italian had been met in the tunnel by Abramovich, the photographers neatly placed to capture the oligarch offering the first Chelsea manager he had sacked 12 years ago a warm embrace and congratulations. “He just said ‘welcome to the champions’,” Ranieri said. “It was very warm. The emotion was at a maximum today. It was a fantastic welcome back. Amazing. At the beginning, but also at the end.”
His players had been granted a Chelsea guard of honour, joined by Terry and the injured John Mikel Obi and Diego Costa, as they took the field and would be cheered from the pitch. No one begrudged them their glorious equaliser eight minutes from time as Danny Drinkwater belted the ball into the corner of the net from 30 yards. The shot had dipped wickedly just in front of Thibaut Courtois, an utterly fitting way for the champions to conclude a season where they have been 10 points better than the next best opponent. That chasm from the rest is testimony to their dominance.
Chelsea only briefly threatened to inflict a fourth league defeat of the season on Leicester, Nemanja Matic feigning to shoot from the edge of the area and luring Jeffrey Schlupp to ground as he sought to block. Matic duly took a touch round the player and drew the contact, with Cesc Fàbregas converting from the penalty spot. Kasper Schmeichel had done wonderfully well to deny Willian before then but, ultimately, it mattered little. This was all about the appreciation of a team of champions, and a public airing of a game of politics that is still being played by club and stalwart player. There will be further twists and turns yet before that matter is resolved.
Man of the match Danny Drinkwater (Leicester City)
