Gianfranco Zola confirms interest in signing John Terry

Gianfranco Zola has confirmed that he is interested in bringing Chelsea captain John Terry to Qatar when the 34-year-old's Blues contract expires at the end of the season.

Terry was dropped by Jose Mourinho earlier this season, and despite the fact that he was later reinstated to the side, reports earlier this week suggested that Zola was keen on bringing the defender to Al Arabi.

The Italian has now confirmed his intent to try to lure the former England captain to the Qatari club where he took over as manager in July, and has suggested that his former teammate could be enticed by a move to the Middle East.

"John Terry is a big player and Al Arabi is interested in big players so we will see what happens," he told The Mirror. "There is a chance because it is one of the places where people want to go. The quality of life is very high here.

"There are clubs that pay well for the players to come so I would not be surprised if I see John Terry playing in this country maybe next year, maybe in two years. I don't know exactly when.

"The connection is easy, me and John played together and have a very high opinion of each other so it comes quite natural to do that. I cannot say that it is impossible because you never know. I can tell you there are no contacts right now, that is for sure, but in the future we will see. It could be one possibility."

Terry has played nearly 700 matches for Chelsea since making his first-team debut in 1998.