A club statement read: “Aston Villa can confirm the club will part company with John Terry. We would like to place on record our most sincere thanks for the effort and professionalism he showed with us last season.
“John is a true leader and was everything and more that we hoped. Hugely popular and influential in the dressing room, he played a real captain’s role in creating the incredible bond the players shared with our supporters, and vice-versa.
“We hope he looks back on his time with Villa fondly and we wish him the very best as his career moves forward.”
Terry later added on Instagram: “Today I part ways with Aston Villa Football Club. I’m very proud to have had the opportunity to play and captain this great and huge club. I have given my everything this year both on and off the pitch and I’m still hurting today that we never managed to get back to the Premier League, where this club 100% belongs.
“Finally, a special thank you to the Villa supporters who have supported us both home and away in their thousands, up and down the country and have been amazing to me on a personal level. Villa will always have a place in my heart and I will look back on my time here and think about how close we were to reaching our goal. But now going forward, I would like to wish the management, staff, players and supporters’ good luck for the future.”
“I would like to thank Steve Bruce who was instrumental in me joining Villa, I have learnt so much from him as a manager this season that will stay with me forever. Also, I’d like to thank all the staff and players who it was a real pleasure and honour to work with every day.