Aston Villa has signed former Chelsea and England captain John Terry.
The 36-year-old defender, whose contract at Stamford Bridge expired on 30 June, has signed a one-year deal with the Championship club.
Terry said he turned down offers to carry on playing in the Premier League for more money because he did not want to play against Chelsea.
He won 78 caps for England, played 717 games for the Blues and won his fifth Premier League title in May.
Villa finished 13th in the Championship last season but Steve Bruce’s side are among the favourites to win automatic promotion to the top flight in 2017-18.
Birmingham City manager Harry Redknapp said in June that his club had made an offer to Terry, who announced in April that he would be leaving Chelsea.
Terry has played for only two other English clubs – Chelsea and Nottingham Forest, with whom he had a short loan spell in 2000.
Terry, who made his debut as a late substitute in a League Cup tie against Villa in 1998, said he had lots of offers to play abroad as well as remain in the top flight.
But he said: “The mental side of playing against Chelsea was too much to get over for me. I was there for 22 years at the football club. I am very proud of that but this is a new chapter in my life and career.
“My thoughts are 100 per cent here and the ambition is to get us back to the Premier League. It’s a huge club. Villa Park is one of the finest stadiums in the country and there’s a good group of players here.
“I can’t wait to get started now and look to help the squad achieve something special this season. It’s a club that deserves to be in the Premier League and I still want to continue playing.
“I am hungry to still play with a team and manager that has the same ambition as me to get promoted.”
