‘This is really uncomfortable’ – John Terry and Chelsea legends refused to board plane after Andre Villas-Boas power play
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.
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.
READ MORE ON CHELSEA
"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.'
Most read in Football
"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.'
"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.
In a wide-ranging interview with Jordan, Terry also opened up on his relationship with legendary Chelsea manager Mourinho.
He said: “When Jose Mourinho first came in, all the players were petrified.
“We were phoning each other and we didn’t know what to expect because his confidence was so intimidating.
"Even now he still scares me, he facetimed me the other night and I started smartening up my room and puffing up the pillows because the gaffer was calling – he makes me so nervous.
"However, I would do absolutely anything for that man and I have so much respect for what he did for me individually and for us as a team. I adore him.
“I’d always try to be the first to arrive at training, but when I got there on his first day he was already out on the pitch putting the cones out and walking through the session.
"He was very clear to tell us and everyone else that we were the best in the world, it made you feel so special. From a tactical point of view, he was on a level that I still haven’t seen matched today.
"If anyone underperformed in training he would absolutely grill them and he was constantly poking people to try and get the most out of them.
“I never challenged Jose. He expected me to do a few things and one of those was to play through injuries, but I never challenged that. I never thought he was wrong.
Read More on talkSPORT
"He ended up getting sacked after we drew a game in the Champions League. I’ve never seen a dressing room of grown men crying other than when he went round shaking everyone’s hand saying goodbye.
"It shows the affection we had for him and it was a big loss. I thought Roman Abramovich was wrong to get rid of him. When you look at what he achieved, if anyone deserved a bit of time it was him.”