The Chelsea legend is set to depart Stamford Bridge at the end of the season.
Having previously been heavily linked with a move to Major League Soccer (MLS), it seems that Chelsea captain John Terry is no longer interesting clubs Stateside.
According to ESPNFC, it is believed that Terry, who announced on Monday that his 22-year association with Chelsea will end at the end of the season, would not be high on the list of potential transfer targets for MLS teams any time soon.
Terry’s previous link with MLS occurred prior to the start of the 2017 season – when, as reported by the Express, it was believed that the 36-year-old turned down approaches from U.S giants LA Galaxy and New York Red Bulls, in addition to 2015 expansion outfit Orlando City, in order to remain at Chelsea for their current title challenge.
Chelsea’s John Terry in action
However, more in line with the conscious change of culture towards MLS signings, Terry appears to no longer fit the profile of Designated Player (DP) – a status that the veteran centre back would likely expect – where each MLS club can exceed the league’s salary cap for up to three allocated Designated Players.
Indeed, clubs on the other side of the Atlantic have made signing and developing younger talents a priority across the league – rather than the previously adopted approach of spending big on ageing players in the Autumn of their careers.
Giovani do Santos of LA Galaxy
MLS has seen the likes of Thierry Henry (Red Bulls), Didier Drogba (Montreal Impact), Frank Lampard (New York City FC), Steven Gerrard, Robbie Keane, Ashley Cole and David Beckham (all LA Galaxy) grace the league in recent years – and currently sees such superstars as Kaka (Orlando), Andrea Pirlo, David Villa (both NYCFC), Sebastian Giovinco (Toronto FC) and Giovani dos Santos (LA) signed to DP contracts.
Sebastian Giovinco of Toronto FC
The average age of the big money signings to MLS is decreasing – with the likes of Giovinco, Nicolas Lodeiro, Ignacio Piatti and Mauro Diaz all emerging as the new generation of MLS imports most likely to demand the highest salaries.
Further, one of the earlier ‘Terry to MLS’ links also suggested that it would indeed be the player’s financial demands that would deem any potential deal unlikely; with ESPNFC once suggesting that no MLS teams are interested in signing the defender at Designated Player levels – meaning that Terry looks unlikely to be joining the current crop of former Premier League players plying their trade Stateside in 2017.
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