'Really uncomfortable': Andre Villas-Boas' power play made John Terry and Chelsea legends refuse to board plane
John Terry has revealed how a plane dispute with Andre Villas-Boas doomed his Chelsea career before it even began.
Terry was later criticized by former Premier League manager Martin O'Neill after he retold the story of leading a boycott of the Blues legends.
The five-time Premier League winner revealed how Villas-Boas lost the dressing room during the 2011 pre-season.
Villas-Boas He was hailed as the second coming of José Mourinho after leading Porto to league, cup and Europa League glory in the 2010/11 season.
But it lasted less than a year Stamford Bridgeand the west Londoners won the Champions League and FA Cup in the months after his sacking.
Speaking to talkSPORT presenter Simon Jordan about the former Crystal Palace owner in front On the YouTube channel, Terry recalled an incident in which Villas-Boas attempted to assert his authority over the club's senior players.
He said: “When AVB came, we went to Hong Kong. “I think when he was the first manager, we got on the plane and I was sitting in economy class on a 13-hour flight.
“And we've got Josh McEachran, Nathaniel Chalobah and a couple of other young players, all first class.
“And this was part of the AVB idea: 'No player is bigger than me, they are all equal.'
“It turns out that the lamps (Frank Lampard) leaves in first class and I return in first class, so if you fly home in first, you return in economy class.
“But basically it wasn't good enough, so I said: 'No, no, we're not going anywhere until we get these young players back into the economy and the first-team players who have built this club to where we are today. Come back first.' .
“And we were on the plane, people were up and down, AVB asks, 'What's the problem?', and I say, 'Well, we're not going anywhere until the young players move in.'
“And to be fair to the young players, they say, 'Listen, JT, this is really awkward, we'll be back.'
“I told him: 'No, no, it's not your decision, he (Villas-Boas) has to be the owner,' so this is one of his first things in front of everyone.
“In the end everything turns, so all the first team players fly first, the younger players return to the economy, that's how it should be.
“These younger players are striving to be where we are, and he tried to make a statement from day one and it instantly failed.
“Because I promise you, the plane wasn't going, and if it was, it would have gone without me, Frank, and Didier (Drogba).”
With Chelsea outside the top four, Villas-Boas was sacked just eight months into his reign, having won just 19 of his first 40 games in all competitions.
Your assistant manager Roberto Di Matteo He initially took over on an interim basis, where he guided the Blues to FA Cup glory and their first Champions League title.
Villas-Boas subsequently replaced Harry Redknapp in July 2012, but was sacked in December the following year, before moving on to Zenit St Petersburg, Shanghai SIPG and Marseille.
O'Neill, former Aston Villa boss joined White & Jordan on talkSPORT shortly after the interview aired and lashed out at Terry for leading a dressing room riot.
He said: “If I had put myself in that situation where I thought the main players were going to rebel, I would have driven that plane myself and dropped them off at the airport.
“I would have done it, absolutely. Because the moment Villas-Boas decides that the players will have to be promoted again, he will lose the locker room.
“If you lose the locker room because of that, you'll lose it because of tactics, you'll lose it because of everything, and that's the point.
“Five or six months ago a former Chelsea player, John Obi Mikel, was here and he was saying the samethat the players ran it.
“Well then they didn't need a coach if that was the case. Don't get me wrong, they won and they won big and that's great, I'm delighted.”
“But somewhere along the way it still has to be controlled. John TerryI know that Simón has a lot of time for himself, he has been a fabulous footballer, a great center back and a great leader.
“But in the end, I'm sorry, but you're going to have to be guided, John, and you're going to have to listen to what I'm saying.
“You may not necessarily agree with it, but I'm going to win this and you're going to sit in the back of that plane and stay there or stay at the airport.
“I'm not just saying that because I look like I'm really great. I would have done that as a coach.”