Mourinho was right to let Mata and Luiz leave Chelsea - Terry

Mata(Left) and Luiz(Right)

John Terry believes Jose Mourinho was right to let the likes of Juan Mata and David Luiz leave Chelsea - claiming he knows when players "take their foot off the gas."

Eyebrows were raised when the Blues sold Mata to Manchester United in January 2014, having won the Player of the Year prize in both his previous seasons in west London.

Paris Saint-Germain then forked out £50million for defender Luiz this summer, as another influential figure departed the Stamford Bridge dressing room.

"You look at some of the world-class players we’ve had, Juan Mata, David Luiz, players like that who’ve left the club," he told the Sun.

"He’s seen something, I don’t know what, to let those big players go. He also knows when players take their foot off the gas."

The 34-year-old added: "It’s his handling of different players differently and he does it superbly. He’s just inspiring and, for me, there’s none better at drawing the best out of people than Jose Mourinho."

Terry, who has penned a one-year contract extension, also revealed how a phone call from Mourinho saved his Chelsea career after falling out of favour under caretaker boss Rafael Benitez.

He claims the Blues boss told him he needed to come back fit and firing because he had been "written off" after a season on the sidelines.

...TheMirror