Ballack expects Terry to stay

15 July 2009 15:22
Chelsea midfielder Michael Ballack is confident captain John Terry will resist the advances of Manchester City and stay at Stamford Bridge. The England skipper has been strongly linked with a move away from the Blues amidst rumours City boss Mark Hughes is lining up a £35million offer after already failing with two bids in the past. Reports have suggested Terry, who was a youngster at Chelsea during Hughes' time as a player at the club, is tempted by a rumoured £200,000-a-week contract at Eastlands and the opportunity of a new challenge in the North West. It has also been speculated that last season's FA Cup winners are prepared to listen to approaches for the centre-back in the wake of injury problems which have limited his performances over the last couple of campaigns. Ballack, though, is positive Terry will remain at Chelsea after talking to his team-mate, telling Sky Sports News: "To be honest, I read it in the papers so I spoke with him. "I thought, 'it's not true' because everyone thinks he is a big part of Chelsea and he has been playing here for a long time so nobody can really imagine that he would change clubs." Ballack and Frank Lampard are understood to be paid superior salaries to Terry, who is two years through a five-year contract in West London, but the German does not expect his colleague to leave in search of superior financial gains. The 32-year-old recognises surprise events can occur in the Premier League, however, he is adamant regarding the possibility of seeing Terry wearing a City shirt in 2009/10. He added: "It's football and everything can happen. But at the moment I am really confident that he will stay. "I don't want to talk too much about our conversation, but I have the feeling he will play for Chelsea next year. "I don't want to speak about what can happen. I think he will stay and all other stories are speculation."

Source: SKY_Sports