John Terry's New Book

The following is a excerpt from John Terry's forthcoming autobiography which he is contractually obliged to write whenever there is a summer tournament.

"It broke my heart when Croatia ended our chances of going to Euro 2008. To captain your country is a great honour and to captain it at a major tournament would be enough to make a grown man cry. Not that I've ever cried. I'm a real man. I did get a bit sad when I watched Ghost though. Does that make me, y'know, a bit fruity?

I was so mad when Croatia scored the third goal, I just wanted to punch someone at that point. Fortunately there were no bouncers around so I escaped an assault charge there. I couldn't stay mad at the lads though, I love those guys. In a rugged, manly way of course. You have to be a real man to play football. Although I did once hug Ashley Cole after I scored and he touched my bottom. Does that make me, y'know, a bit fruity?

This year I guess I'll have to book a holiday abroad when the tournaments on. Somewhere outside of Europe, like the Ukraine. I went there once to visit Andrei Shevchenko's family. I had to sleep in a room with his three brothers. It was really cold so we all ended up sharing the same bed. Does that make me, y'know, a bit fruity?

Sometimes I wish I was from another country so that I could go to Euro 2008. If I was German I would always be at the big tournaments. But if I was German I'd have to wear those funny little leather shorts wouldn't I? Would that make me, y'know, a bit fruity?

I couldn't be anything other than English though. If you cut me you'd see three lions in my blood. There's nothing more English than lions. Sometimes when I'm at home I pretend to be a lion. I roar and prowl and eat raw meat. I even have a little cuddly lion that I go to sleep holding. Oh I shouldn't have said that, I don't want people to think that I might be, y'know, a bit fruity."