I didn’t sign for the money. I came to get the club back where it belongs CHELSEA LEGEND TERRY ON WHY HE JOINED VILLA

ASTON VILLA fans may have had to rub their eyes at the sight of John Terry in claret and blue.

He has been in Chelsea colours for so long, it may take football followers of any persuasion most of this season to adjust.

But as he was unveiled at Villa Park yesterday, the former England captain insisted that at the age of 36 he has not moved to the Midlands just for a final pay-day after vowing to prove himself all over again.

His contract, worth £5million, is for one year with the option of a further 12 months.

Terry insists he has plenty left in the tank after starting just six league games last season for Antonio Conte’s title-winners.

“This takes me out of my comfort zone,” admitted Terry, who will wear his favourite No.26 shirt.

“I am coming in here to start afresh.

“It’s down to me to perform week in, week out, and prove to players I can do it and that I’m not one of those players at the end of my career looking for a pay day.

“That is certainly not the case, I would be somewhere else if it was.

“I will still get those butterflies before the games.

“That hunger has driven me for 18 years now and if I can add to that by getting us promoted then I will have done by job this year.

“The ambition is to get us back to the Premier League and if I can do that it will be an unbelievable achievement.

“It would be a fantastic achievement not only for me but for the club as well.”

His arrival at Villa has turned Steve Bruce’s side into the bookies’ favourites for promotion to the Premier League.

Terry flew out last night on a private jet with Bruce ahead of preseason training with Villa today in Portugal.

Long-suffering Villa fans have hailed Terry’s arrival, with season ticket sales looking to hit a new record of 26,000.

But Terry admits he has not always been popular in this part of the world, being targeted for abuse at Villa Park in 2013 when he was carried off.

Terry smiled: “The chant was, ‘Let him die’ I think!

“I have been on the receiving end of that but hopefully the fans will all get behind me and Steve and everyone.

“If we can bounce off each other and get that winning feeling back then we have as good a chance as anyone.

“Aston Villa will get a 100 per cent of John Terry this year.

“There are going to be some defeats along the way, it is a rocky road but it is how you pick yourself up.”

The centre-back made more than 700 appearances for Chelsea, captaining them almost 600 times, and won 15 major trophies including five Premier League titles. He was capped 78 caps by England but has never been far from controversy.

He fell out with Chelsea teammate Wayne Bridge as well as being banned and fined for racially abusing QPR’s Anton Ferdinand.

Terry reflected: “When I walk down the street, whether it be a Tottenham supporter or an Arsenal supporter, they will say, ‘I don’t particularly like you but you’re a good footballer and I appreciate what you’ve done in the game’.

“That’s the message but what I do get a lot is when you spend time and have photos with people’s kids is, ‘You’re actually a nice guy’.

“People see you in a way and put you in a bracket of, ‘Right, he’s an a***hole’ and they bracket you there.

“That’s not me. You grow up over the years as well and you live and learn as a human being and as a professional and a player.

“I’ve given as good as I’ve got over the years from supporters all over the country but at the end of the day when I retire, if they turn around and say, ‘He was a decent player’ that will do me.”

Chelsea fans will certainly agree – and perhaps Aston Villa fans will too in future.