John Terry has revealed the 46-year-old lost the dressing room during pre-season in 2011 – leading to a boycott from Blues legends.
Andre Villas-Boas’ ill-fated spell at Chelsea appeared to be doomed before it had even started.
John Terry has revealed the 46-year-old lost the dressing room during pre-season in 2011 – leading to a boycott from Blues legends.
Terry has recalled an incident where Villas-Boas lost the Chelsea dressing room on day one
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Terry has recalled an incident where Villas-Boas lost the Chelsea dressing room on day oneCredit: Getty
Villas-Boas was hailed as the second coming of Jose Mourinho having led Porto to league, cup and Europa League glory in the 2010/11 season.
But he lasted less than a year at Stamford Bridge, with the west Londoners going on to win the Champions League and FA Cup in the months that followed his sacking.
Speaking to talkSPORT host Simon Jordan on the ex-Crystal Palace owner’s Up Front YouTube channel, Terry recalled an incident where Villas-Boas looked to assert his authority over the club’s senior players.
He said: “When AVB came in, we went to Hong Kong I think when he was first manager, we got on the plane and I’m sitting on economy on a 13-hour flight
“And we’ve got Josh McEachran, Nathaniel Chalobah, a couple of other young players, all in first class.
“And this was part of AVB going, ‘No player is bigger than me, everyone’s the same.’
“It turns out Lamps [Frank Lampard] is flying out first class and I’m flying back first class, so if you fly out at home in first, you come back in economy.
“But basically it wasn’t good enough, so I’m going, ‘No no, we’re not going anywhere until these young players go back in economy, and the first team players that have built this club to where we are today go back in first.’
“And we’re on the plane, people are up and down, AVB comes up, ‘What’s the problem?’, I’m going, ‘Well we’re not going anywhere until the young players move.’
“And to be fair to the young players, they’re going, ‘Listen JT, this is really uncomfortable, we will go back.’
Andre Villas-Boas’ ill-fated spell at Chelsea appeared to be doomed before it had even started.
John Terry has revealed the 46-year-old lost the dressing room during pre-season in 2011 – leading to a boycott from Blues legends.
Terry has recalled an incident where Villas-Boas lost the Chelsea dressing room on day one
Villas-Boas was hailed as the second coming of Jose Mourinho having led Porto to league, cup and Europa League glory in the 2010/11 season.
But he lasted less than a year at Stamford Bridge, with the west Londoners going on to win the Champions League and FA Cup in the months that followed his sacking.
Speaking to talkSPORT host Simon Jordan on the ex-Crystal Palace owner’s Up Front YouTube channel, Terry recalled an incident where Villas-Boas looked to assert his authority over the club’s senior players.
He said: “When AVB came in, we went to Hong Kong I think when he was first manager, we got on the plane and I’m sitting on economy on a 13-hour flight.
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“And we’ve got Josh McEachran, Nathaniel Chalobah, a couple of other young players, all in first class.
“And this was part of AVB going, ‘No player is bigger than me, everyone’s the same.’
“It turns out Lamps [Frank Lampard] is flying out first class and I’m flying back first class, so if you fly out at home in first, you come back in economy.
“But basically it wasn’t good enough, so I’m going, ‘No no, we’re not going anywhere until these young players go back in economy, and the first team players that have built this club to where we are today go back in first.’
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Terry has stated Chelsea’s senior players boycotted against Villas-Boas during a pre-season flight
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Terry has stated Chelsea’s senior players boycotted against Villas-Boas during a pre-season flightCredit: YouTube: Up Front With Simon Jordan
Villas-Boas lasted just eight months at Stamford Bridge after taking over in the summer of 2011
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Villas-Boas lasted just eight months at Stamford Bridge after taking over in the summer of 2011
“And we’re on the plane, people are up and down, AVB comes up, ‘What’s the problem?’, I’m going, ‘Well we’re not going anywhere until the young players move.’
“And to be fair to the young players, they’re going, ‘Listen JT, this is really uncomfortable, we will go back.’
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“I’m going, ‘No no, it’s not your decision, he [Villas-Boas] has to own it’, so this is one of his first things in front of everyone.
“In the end it spins, so all first team players fly first, younger players go back in economy, that’s how it should be.
“These younger players are striving to be where we’ve got, and he tried to make a statement on day one and he failed instantly.
“Because I promise you, the plane wasn’t going, and if it was going, it would have gone without myself, Frank and Didier [Drogba].”
With Chelsea sitting outside the top four, Villas-Boas was axed just eight months into his reign having won just 19 out of his opening 40 matches in all competitions.
His assistant manager Roberto Di Matteo took over on an initial interim basis, where he guided the Blues to FA Cup glory and their first Champions League title.
Villas-Boas subsequently replaced Harry Redknapp in July 2022, but he was dismissed in December the following year, before moving onto Zenit St-Petersburg, Shanghai SIPG and Marseille.
