With 717 appearances for Chelsea, you could say that John Terry has seen a lot of players pass through the doors at Stamford Bridge.
Captain of the side for over a decade, Terry has led some of the greatest to lace up for Chelsea.
The 15 major trophies he won during his tenure point to the fact that he was playing in a side loaded with quality, and to his own brilliance. Terry was an ever-present in the World XI
But some came close to a London move only for it to fall through.
One such player is one of the five best strikers Terry has ever faced, and he wishes Chelsea signed him.
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John Terry rues Chelsea not signing Sergio Aguero
Before he became Manchester City’s all-time leading goalscorer, Sergio Aguero was one of Europe’s best young talents, and Chelsea’s affinity for that type of player was just strong in Terry’s time as it is today.
In the four seasons before moving to the Premier League, the Argentinian scored a staggering 69 goals in La Liga.
Chelsea came close to signing him two years before his eventual move to Manchester, and Terry regrets not getting it over the line.
Asked about his toughest opponents, Terry responded: “Number three would have to be Aguero. Again, for someone so small, he was so strong and wanted the fight, he enjoyed the fight. He’d give you a bit back. He’d come back at you in your ear, I loved that about him.
“I think Chelsea were close to signing him a long time ago and he would’ve been a great addition to our team, a complete threat off the shoulder.”
Aguero at Chelsea would have been something to see. He was a driving force behind City’s recent dominance. He could have easily taken the Blues to a few more league titles.
He was that good.
Aguero’s side of the Chelsea story
Aguero revealed to The Club podcast that he was indeed pursued by Chelsea.
He said: “After that game, maybe two months after, my agent said to me: ‘Chelsea are interested’. I had just three years at Atletico Madrid.
“I mean, I loved the Premier League, to play there, but Chelsea were never interested after. At first, yes, but then my agent said: ‘Okay, maybe not’.”
Frank Lampard was one of Aguero’s favourite goalscorers, and he surely would have loved the chance to play alongside him. But Chelsea decided not to pursue it.
When Lampard joined City, Aguero recalls: “I spoke about that with Frank Lampard because he played at Manchester City. He said when I played against him, he told the staff at Chelsea to sign Aguero.”
If only the higher-ups trusted the guts of their two great leaders, the Blues could have had one of the best strikers to ever grace the Premier League.
They did get the chance again in 2021, but Chelsea turned down the chance due to ‘different priorities’.
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