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| John Terry sat on the bench after being substituted at half time |
FORMER Liverpool captain Graeme Souness believes Jose Mourinho was sending a message to Chelsea chairman Roman Abramovich by surprisingly substituting John Terry.
Terry was removed in place of Kurt Zouma at half time by Mourinho and after the game, the Blues boss said the decision was tactical and not related to injury.
It was the first time Mourinho had ever taken his captain for the pitch and the 34-year-old looked on in frustration as his team-mates fell to a heavy 3-0 defeat against their title rivals.
Souness, working as a pundit for Sky Sports, said he thought the decision had nothing to do with Terry's performance and was in fact a message to billionaire owner Abramovich.
"I don’t think it was anything to do with Terry’s performance," Souness said.
"John Terry is still the best centre-back out there. I think he’s trying to force the owner’s hand to go and buy John Stones.
"I think it’s a manager making a statement to the owner, saying ‘I need more players’.
"What enhances my argument is the fact Cuadrado came on, who is up for sale. I think the manager wants more players and I think he was emphasising that point today."
After the match, Chelsea announced the signing of Abdul Rahman Baba from Augsburg in a £21.7m deal.
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