Ex-Chelsea and England defender John Terry took to Instagram in the hours before the club's home debut against bitter rivals Tottenham Hotspur to thank former owner Roman Abramovich and departed director Marina Granovskaia for their service.

In May, Abramovich sold Chelsea for a record £4.5 billion ($5.4 billion) fee to a consortium led by new owner Todd Boehly.

This ended a near 20-year tenure at Stamford Bridge, after Abramovich first put the club up for sale shortly before he had his assets frozen by the UK government for alleged links to President Vladimir Putin.

Following power being handed over to Boehly and his group, Granovskaia then left her post as did another close Abramovich confidante in chairman Bruce Buck.

In his post, Terry, who played for the Blues from 1998-2017 and was made captain for their first Premier League win in 2004-2005 after Jose Mourinho made him captain, thanked the trio plus director Eugene Tenenbaum and the impact they had on transforming Chelsea from also-rans to a force in European football.

"As we enter into a new era under new ownership, I want to take this opportunity to say a huge thank you to Marina, Bruce, and Eugene for all of their fantastic and hard work at our great football club," Terry began.

"You have all helped us become the best, winning every trophy in world football," he noted, with the set completed when Chelsea scooped the Club World Cup against Palmeiras in Abu Dhabi at the turn of 2022.

"This wouldn’t have been possible without all your great work and passion throughout your time at Chelsea," Terry stressed, before then moving on to address Abramovich specifically.

"Roman. Boss… words will never ever be enough to express my thanks to you," Terry said.

"The support you gave me, both on and off the pitch, will stay with me forever.

"You created a world class men’s team, women’s team and academy, enabling us all to be our very best and fulfill our dreams.

"Your legacy and name will be remembered forever. You are the best owner in the world. Thank you for everything," Terry finished, mentioning memories "that we will all keep forever".

Signing off, Terry then wished good luck to Boehly and the new ownership, as well as the players in their first home match of the season which was drawn 2-2 thanks to a 96th minute Harry Kane equalizer and blighted by confrontations between past and present Chelsea managers Antonio Conte and Thomas Tuchel.