I played for Chelsea and Aston Villa - not listening to John Terry cost me my career

Former Chelsea and Aston Villa goalkeeper Mark Bosnich said a warning from John Terry could have prolonged his career. The Australian shot stopper was at Chelsea when the 21-year-old stood up in front of the squad and told him he was hanging about with the wrong crowd.

Terry had known the same group of people earlier in his career and warned Bosnich in "no uncertain terms". However, the goalkeeper claims he felt "bullet proof" and would let Terry's advice fall at the wayside

“I should have listened to his advice back then,” Bosnich told the Guardian back in 2015. “If I had, I would never had got into the troubles that I did. The whole mess ended up curtailing my career.”

READ MORE: Chelsea legend Frank Lampard's dramatic Coventry City manager debut ends with last-minute penalty

READ MORE: I thanked Aston Villa's Unai Emery one year ago - now I'm desperate to beat him for Chelsea

Bosnich played for Villa from 1992 to 1999 before earning a move to Manchester United at the end of that year. He'd make just 23 appearances at Old Trafford before moving to Stamford Bridge in 2001.

However, he struggled to break into the Chelsea first-team and battled with injuries before being banned from football for nine months after testing positive for cocaine. The Australian international was sacked by the Blues as a result of that ban and subsequently developed an addiction to the drug, which he battled in the years that would follow, causing a five year absence from football before retiring in 2009.

“John’s actions showed amazing foresight and leadership at such a young age, and is the reason so many managers such as Jose Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti, Fabio Capello and others, have always made him captain,” he said.

“The bottom line is that as a person, he will always be the smiling kid I remember at a young age who spoke up when no-one else did – and was right.”