He might have lost his place in the Chelsea starting 11 but John Terry is certainly one of the best defenders the club has ever had.

Celebrating his 36th birthday today, serving the team since 1998, Terry boasts all the skills required of a defender – strong, tenacious, aggressive tackling, positioning, leadership and his ability to read the game.

That has translated on the pitch, becoming their most successful captain, leading the west London side to four Premier League titles, four FA Cups, three League Cups and one UEFA Champions League crown.

To date, he’s scored 40 goals, making him the club’s top-scoring defender and is one of five players to have made more than 500 club appearances.

He donned the England jersey 78 times and went on to captain his nation before retiring from international duty in 2012.

More sport star birthdays on this day:

1965: Colin Hendry, former Scottish defender, who played for Bolton, Blackburn and Rangers (51).

1967: Tino Martinez, former baseball player and four-time World Series champion (49).

1977: Luke Donald, English golfer and former world number one. Won 16 professional titles (39).

1990: Urszula Radwanska , Polish tennis player and sister of Agnieszka (26).