Chelsea legend John Terry is reportedly behind a £14million swoop to buy League Two club Colchester United.
The former England star is part of a consortium that is expected to announce it has taken over Essex’s highest-ranking club, according to The Sun.
Terry, who is anticipated to hold ‘significant influence’, is going down the ownership route after ending his pursuit of a managerial job.
The 45-year-old has filled his time mentoring players in Chelsea’s Cobham academy and sharing tactics and punditry videos on TikTok.
An insider told The Sun: ‘This has been a long time in the making, and JT is really excited for it all to become official.
‘He will bring a real stardust. Everyone involved with Colchester is excited, and the hope is this deal will really put them on the map as they push for promotion.’
John Terry is reportedly part of a £14million consortium bid to buy Colchester United
He is turning to football ownership after effectively abandoning his managerial ambitions
Terry has reportedly already been to Colchester’s Florence Park training ground multiple times to mix with his soon-to-be colleagues.
He already has a connection to the club as his nephew, Frankie Terry, is on the books of the fourth tier outfit, though he is on loan at Braintree Town in the National League.
Neither Terry nor Colchester have commented on the report. Daily Mail Sport has contacted Colchester for comment.
Football ownership is a tough way to turn a profit. Every League Two side lost money last season, with Colchester’s net loss among the highest in the division at £3.6million.
Their season is effectively over as the Us sit 13th in the table, nine points off the play-offs and 27 ahead of the relegation zone with four games to go.
This is their 10th consecutive campaign in the English Football League’s basement tier but they have been as high as the Championship as recent as 2007-08.
It remains to be seen whether Terry will attend their next home fixture on Tuesday evening at home against Accrington Stanley.
A growing number of former players and even current ones have entered into football ownership in recent seasons.
Terry, who will continue as a mentor at Chelsea’s academy, films football videos for TikTok
David Beckham, Luka Modric, Kylian Mbappe, and Gerard Pique are some of the headline names to enter football ownership – to varying degrees of success.
Terry’s anticipated path into ownership comes after he effectively gave up on his dream to manage professionally.
‘I’m done in terms of coaching,’ he told the Sun last year.
‘I’m enjoying my life, I’m working in the Chelsea academy. My role’s a part-time role, I love working with the kids, I love passing on my knowledge and experience to those boys. I went for a couple of jobs and those days are gone for me.
‘I absolutely wanted it,’ he added. ‘When I went into Villa I got great experience under Dean Smith and we got promotion, which was incredible.
‘As an assistant coach in the Premier League and the experience I’ve had as a player and an individual captain in both Chelsea and England, I thought that would be enough to get me a job.
‘I’m not saying a job in the Premier League or the Championship – but a job at League One level.’
Terry continued: ‘I didn’t even get a sniff. I had interviews and it was just “you have no experience”. When I see some people managing today, it baffles me, it really does.
‘In terms of “am I frustrated?”, yes, absolutely, because I have a lot of good attributes to be a really good coach or a really good manager but, unfortunately, that’s not happened.’
