Chelsea captain John Terry was won over by new manager Luiz Felipe Scolari during a chance meeting at a restaurant a month ago.

A source close to Terry told the News of the World: "There were rumours that Grant could be on his way even though Chelsea had just qualified for the Champions League Final - but Scolari's name hadn't been mentioned.

"Most people thought he was nailed on for Manchester City and was just in London to take in such a huge match.

"He and John recognised each other, went over to have a chat and suddenly got involved in a discussion about all aspects of football. It takes something special to impress John, but when he came away from the chat, he was buzzing.

"Scolari is a physically big man who immediately commands respect and John liked that about him. He was also very confident and had a bit of an aura about him.

"From the conversation they had, it was obvious this was a manager who had a real insight into the game, even though he'd never worked in England or with English players.

"Suddenly there was a World Cup-winning manager happy to talk about tactics and players and who impressed with his depth of knowledge.

"He certainly won John over. For the next few minutes it was Scolari said this, Scolari said that, it was obvious he'd made quite an impression on him even in that short space of time."