It had appeared on the cards but now John Terry has officially hung up his boots.
The long-time former Chelsea captain had been without a club since departing Aston Villa at the end of last season and his career trajectory appears to be taking him towards a role in the Birmingham club's coaching set-up, potentially under the management of former Arsenal skipper Thierry Henry.
While Terry's success on the field is unquestioned, given how many trophies he lifted for boyhood club Chelsea, he divides opinion among followers of other clubs after controversies during his career.
But former Chelsea winger Pat Nevin, who joins us weekly on Off The Ball, feels he is misunderstood by those who do not know him.
"A stunningly unusual character," says Nevin of the ex-England captain.
"I'm not saying John Terry's a great person, I don't say that at all. But what I will say is I suspect that there's every chance that he'll be a phenomenal manager and if I had to choose anybody who I've come across in the game over the years that would be as close to a stick-in as a success, it's him."
Pat added that Terry is "the most misunderstood personality" he's come across during his time in football.
"I actually wanted to dislike him," he said.
"Some of the things that he'd said, that he'd done in the past, well I thought, 'I've no time for this guy'.
"But apart from the fact that he's totally and utterly disarming, watching him closely when he doesn't know you're watching, it's amazing to see the reaction he gets from everybody he comes across."
