I was never going to leave Chelsea, says Terry

England captain John Terry said today he was fully committed to Chelsea and that leaving the London club was "never a possibility".

Terry had been a target for Manchester City, with local media speculating that they had offered him a salary of 200,000 pounds per week after making a bid of around 30 million pounds.

Terry remained silent on the issue, despite City manager Mark Hughes regularly confirming his interest, but he finally broke his silence via a statement on the club's website (www.chelseafc.co.uk.)

"There has been a lot of speculation recently about my future and I want to clear this up once and for all," he said.

"I am totally committed to Chelsea and always have been.

"Chelsea have also made it clear to me consistently that there was never any intention to accept any kind of offer."

Chelsea's new manager Carlo Ancelotti said earlier this month that he considered the centre back to be a "symbol of the club" and that no price would be enough to take him from Stamford Bridge.