John Terry has confirmed he is a part of The True Blues consortium attempting to buy a stake in Chelsea from Roman Abramovich.
The former England defender and Stamford Bridge legend, 41, has thrown his weight behind the supporter-backed group which is aiming to purchase a 10 per cent share of the club. Terry is hoping to safeguard Chelsea's "history and heritage" having made 717 appearances for the West Londoners between 1998 and 2017, winning five Premier League titles and the Champions League.
Former Chelsea Women defender Claire Rafferty is also involved with The True Blues, who have made contact with Raine Group, the bank overseeing the sale of the club. Final bids were submitted on Friday and Terry has outlined his hope to be a "welcomed investor" in the new hierarchy.
He wrote on Twitter: "Chelsea has been such an important part of my life for 22 years. I want to see the club's history and heritage protected as we go into a new era with like-minded people who have the same long-term vision of building the best football club in the world and understand how important our DNA is.
"Having met with and heard what The True Blues consortium is about, I know they understand. They're a group of lifelong Chelsea fans and season ticket holders who have created a concept that will complement and assist any preferred bidder running the club while adding fan connection and engagement with the board.
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"This innovative structure is designed to be inclusive of all Chelsea fans to protect our club. I'm thankful for the Chelsea Pitch owners and Chelsea Supporters Trust's time and support on this, and we hope we will be welcomed investors into the Club's new structure."
The ambitious plan aims to put one member of The True Blues on the Chelsea board as a new leadership structure emerges. Abramovich owned the club throughout the vast majority of Terry's playing days, having purchased them in 2003.
However, the oligarch came under pressure to sell up in light of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February and he was subsequently sanctioned by the government because of his ties with Vladimir Putin.
Chelsea have continued to operate under strict restrictions due to a special sporting license and numerous parties have submitted bids to take control. The True Blues have received backing from investment group Oakvale Capital in a boost to their hopes of securing a seat on the board.
While Terry said he has the support of the Chelsea Supporters' Trust (CST) in his statement, the fan group later took to Twitter to clarify they have not endorsed any bid as of yet. They wrote: "The CST has been clear that the best outcome for supporters is for new owners to protect CFC's heritage by giving fans a golden share. Whilst we support the fundamental aims of this consortium in principle, we are not endorsing any individual bid at this present time."
