Simon Jordan reveals Ken Bates’ reaction to his attempt to sign John Terry for Crystal Palace

Jul 13, 2026 - 18:45

Simon Jordan was told to ‘f*** off’ by Chelsea when he tried to poach John Terry for Crystal Palace.

The talkSPORT host purchased his beloved Eagles in 2000 and was keen to snap up the Blues legend as one of his first signings.

Terry was the subject of interest from Crystal Palace early into his Chelsea career

Terry at the time had only played 16 times for the west London outfit across two seasons, and had spent part of the 1999/2000 campaign on loan at Nottingham Forest.

He had featured in just six matches in the now-Championship division with the Reds, but that was enough to convince Jordan that the then-19-year-old was good enough.

But as it turned out, that was what Chelsea chairman Ken Bates also thought of the defender, and he was quick to let Jordan know what he thought of his transfer request.

Simon Jordan tried to sign John Terry

The talkSPORT host was asked about his previous dealings with White & Jordan on Monday and said: “I tried to take John Terry on loan.

“A very young John Terry. And I got told to ‘F off and grow up, don’t waste his time’ – I think the words were a little bit more expansive than that, in that sort of neighbourhood.

“And I laughed. And I laughed a lot about things that Ken did.”

Jordan has previously told his now-World Cup Uncensored co-host to his face how their fates nearly intertwined at a much earlier date.

Speaking to Terry on his YouTube channel Up Front in 2024, the ex-Palace owner recalled how the conversation played out.

After the formalities of introduction were out of the way, Jordan said: “Here’s a fun fact for you.

Jordan was met with an X-rated response when he tried his luck at signing Terry

The blunt response from Bates had Terry cracking up

“I don’t know if you know this, you were out on loan at Nottingham Forest in the 1999/2000 season.

“And I had bought Palace in 2000, and I put a phone call into Batesey, and said, ‘I’d like to sign that kid John Terry.’

“And I got, ‘Well, you can f*** off.

“‘He’s a top player, he’s not going to your club.”

Following his loan spell at the City Ground, Terry become a key player for Chelsea from the 2000/01 season.

And in 2004, he was appointed as the permanent club captain, where he will go down as one of the Premier League’s greatest skippers.

Terry went on to become one of the Premier League’s greatest centre-backs in history

Terry eventually departed Stamford Bridge in 2017, where he played a whopping 717 games in all competitions – the third-most appearances in the club’s history.

As well as scoring an incredible 67 goals as a centre-back, he also won 17 major honours with the club.