Former England and Chelsea defender John Terry has turned down a move to Spartak Moscow after deciding it was not right for his family.
The 37-year-old is understood to have had a medical in Rome ahead of a proposed deal with the Russian club, chronicling it on his Instagram story, but has since had a change of heart.
Terry has been without a club since leaving Aston Villa at the end of last season.
Again taking to Instagram, Terry said: “After considerable thought, I have decided to decline a contract offer from Spartak Moscow.
“I would like to take the opportunity to thank Spartak and wish them and their supporters well for the rest of the season.
“They are an ambitious club and I have been very impressed with their professionalism.
“But after assessing this move with my family, we’ve decided this is not the right move for ourselves at this time.
“Good Luck Spartak.”
Terry left Villa after they lost the Championship play-off final to Fulham at the end of May and has been on the look-out for a new club, keeping himself fit over the summer.
He has received several offers and has been linked with a return to Villa Park, with Steve Bruce still looking for an experienced central defender.
The former Three Lions captain can still sign for any club despite the transfer window being shut as he is a free agent.
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here