John Terry: Aston Villa will always have a place in my heart
John Terry paid tribute to "amazing" supporters and admitted Villa "will always have a place in my heart" after his exit from the club was confirmed.
The 37-year-old former England skipper had been set to remain at Villa Park had the club won promotion to the Premier League.
But last Saturday's Championship play-off defeat to Fulham and the sobering new financial reality of a third season in the second tier meant his departure was inevitable.
Writing on Instagram, Terry thanked boss Steve Bruce, owner Tony Xia along with supporters, while expressing his pride at having played for the club.
He wrote: "Today I part ways with Aston Villa Football Club. I’m very proud to have had the opportunity to play and captain this great and huge club.
"I have given my everything this year both on and off the pitch and I’m still hurting today that we never managed to get back to the Premier League, where this club 100 per cent belongs.
"I would like to thank Steve Bruce who was instrumental in me joining Villa, I have learnt so much from him as a manger this season that will stay with me forever. Also, I’d like to thank all the staff and players and our owner Dr Tony, who it was a real pleasure and honour to work with everyday. 💜⚽️
"Finally, a special thank you to the Villa supporters who have supported us both home and away in their thousands, up and down the country and have been amazing to me on a personal level.
"Villa will always have a place in my heart and I will look back on my time here and think about how close we were to reaching our goal. But now going forward, I would like to wish the management, staff, players and supporters good luck for the future."
