Beckham feels Terry will stay at Chelsea

LONDON - Former England football captain David Beckham strongly believes that John Terry will stay at Chelsea.

“I don’t think JT (John Terry) will move because he’s Chelsea through and through. But football’s a business. I think he’ll stay at Chelsea because they won’t want to lose him,” Beckham was quoted as saying by The Daily Telegraph.

Beckham was speaking ahead of LA Galaxy’s game Thursday night against New York Red Bulls. It was Beckham’s first game in the United States since his loan period in AC Milan.

Terry has been linked to Manchester City, who had two bids rejected for the 28-year-old over the past six months and are expected to lodge an improved third offer. Terry’s team-mates expect him to remain at the club despite City’s willingness to double his 135,000 pounds-a-week salary with a five-year contract.

Beckham said: “If you’ve got passion to play for the club you’re at, then that goes beyond money. JT’s like that. He’s passionate about football, not passionate about money.

“He’ll decide what’s best for his football career. It won’t be about money for him. At the end of the day, he’s England captain and you don’t become England captain being greedy.”

With an uncertain future, Terry boarded the flight to Seattle for Chelsea’s four-match practice tour that starts Saturday against Seattle Sounders.

Beckham, who made a dramatic departure from Manchester United to Real Madrid in 2003, also spoke about the move.

“I would never have gone to another English club from Manchester United. At the time, I didn’t even want to leave Manchester United. So, I knew that once I left there I had to go to somewhere on par with United and that was Real Madrid, in my eyes,” Beckham said.

Asked whether he regrets the move, Beckham said: “No, because it wasn’t in my hands. There was nothing that I could have done about it. But I’ve always said that, from the moment I left to now, that I always wanted to stay at Manchester United for my whole career.

“I missed it. I couldn’t even bear to watch Manchester United on the TV for the first three years after leaving just because it hurt me a lot.”