John Terry was forced to sell a brand new car after being angrily confronted by Chelsea captain Dennis Wise.
Terry is now established as a club legend at Chelsea, having made 717 appearances for the Blues between 1998 and 2017. But when he first broke through into the side, he was a young defender who looked up to the senior figures in the dressing room.
The 41-year-old has relayed a story in which he was given a crash course in how to conduct himself by Wise, who was by then a veteran and wielded a lot of influence in the squad. "He was club captain at the time. I remember I was in the first team and got a Champions League bonus and I went out and stupidly bought a car with the bonus I was on,” Terry told The Footballers Guide to Football podcast.
"I was 19 at the time. I come in with my car and Wisey got me up round the throat in the corridor in front of everyone: 'Who do you think you are? Go and take the car back.' So he made me go and take the car back, which I lost money on, took me around and helped me find a house, buy a house, so it was the best bit of advice."
Terry says that, although Wise might not have gone about it in the right way, his heart was in the right place and he came to appreciate his intervention over time. "I was embarrassed at the time but it was the best bit of advice that I could have had,” he added.
"So I'm really grateful for all those little bits along the way, guiding the younger players, and he always not only had his eye on the first team but had an interest in the younger boys."
Wise made 445 appearances for Chelsea between 1990 and 2001, helping the club win two FA Cups and the League Cup. But Terry eventually surpassed his record by developing into the next leader inside the Blues’ dressing room.
The England centre-back was an almost ever-present in the Chelsea side for 16 years and helped the club win five Premier League titles, five FA Cups, three League Cups, the Champions League and the Europa League
“When I look back, I don't see myself as the most talented player ever but I am a winner. I see someone who went in and gave 100 per cent every day, with Chelsea and Villa,” Terry told the Daily Mail of his ethos in 2018.
“If that's another dressing room as a player or a coach, that's what you get. I would want my team and players to represent who I am. If you have this, I believe, along with the talent and knowledge in football, it becomes a great recipe. That's what I am about.”
