Rio Ferdinand praises John Terry’s ‘outstanding’ performances for Chelsea

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/may/01/rio-ferdinand-praises-john-terry-chelsea

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Rio Ferdinand has said that although he is “no longer gets on” with John Terry, he can admit that the Chelsea defender has been “outstanding” this season.

The former England team-mates do not speak as a result of the fall-out from Terry’s racism case with Ferdinand’s brother, Anton.

Rio Ferdinand last year used his autobiography to say he found it “impossible to forgive or forget” the pain of that incident but on Friday, in his column in the Sun, he felt moved to praise Terry’s on-field performances.

Related: You are the Ref No331: John Terry

He said: “It’s no secret that me and John Terry are not the closest of mates. But just because we no longer get on does not mean I’ve lost my admiration for him as a footballer. His performances for Chelsea this season have been nothing short of outstanding and I’m not afraid to say it. John took the decision to retire from playing for England and had his reasons, but Chelsea are reaping the benefits.

“John is finding, as I did, that the upside of being off the international scene is that your body gets the rest it needs which allows you to keep performing at top-level well into your 30s. As I said, me and John are not pals but then again I didn’t like a lot of things about Luis Suárez either, especially when he was biting people.”

Terry and Chelsea will win a fourth Premier League title if they beat Crystal Palace on Sunday.