To say that John Terry has enjoyed a monumental career is a severe understatement of the legend. Hailed as one of the greatest defenders of the generation, it will not be a stretch to claim that he will be one of the first names in his position for many generations.
As a testament to that, Terry was inducted into the Premier League Hall of Fame earlier last week. However, it is not his induction that this story is about, nor is it about his illustrious career. It is about his shirt number.
After the ceremony, Terry posted a photo on Instagram of him holding the memento. Along with him, his high-school sweetheart and wife Toni Terry, and his twins were also there in the frame.
What was intended to be a proud family photo soon became a sensation after the netizens discovered the tags on the photo.
The post showed that all the members of the Terry household have 26 in their handles. The photo posted on the eve of Arsenal’s 5-0 routing of Chelsea, garnered much attention from the fans.
‘26’ had been John Terry’s shirt number for the entire duration of his club career. He first donned the shirt when he broke into the main team at the age of just 17. And since then, he never changed his shirt number.
During an Instagram ‘Ask Me Anything‘ session, Terry himself revealed, “When I broke into the first team at Chelsea, that was my number. I had seen some fans with my name and number on their shirts. I didn’t want them paying out for another shirt.”
The gesture to share ‘26’ as a part of their identities, is probably his family’s attempt to show their pride. It is not that Toni and their children have had a rosy relationship with John. During the ‘Bridge-gate’ in 2010, where rumours of JT’s illicit affair with Wayne Bridge’s wife sent the world into a frenzy, Toni was visibly devastated. She was photographed in Dubai with her kids to avoid the “heat” of the events. Although the veracity of the rumour was never confirmed, this finding only testifies to the bond they share. They married in 2007 in a grand ceremony after dating throughout their school days.
Both Summer Rose and Georgie John have also been very close to their father. It was also reported the twins received ‘matching’ Mercedes Benz cars for their 17th birthday last year in 2023. Fans also surmised that Georgie looks exactly like the younger days of his father. However, he is more keen on golf as seen in his Instagram. The twins are avid travellers and love to post photos with their friends and celebrities they meet.
Shirt numbers have always been special to players and some of them have been immortalised in the pages of history. These numbers usually denote the roles on the pitch. Cristiano Ronaldo’s seven, and Lionel Messi’s 10 are probably the most prominent examples of how shirt numbers have become a part of their identities. While seven, 10, nine, five, and six are some of the more conventional numbers worn by players, 26 is not one of them. Even John Terry used to wear the number six for his national side. Stories of him wearing the same shin guards for his entire career are also very famous. So it is normal that his shirt number was also the same. While Chelsea has not retired the shirt, it has not been circulated since his retirement.
