John Terry's mid-game guard of honour during final Chelsea appearance was his idea

Chelsea captain John Terry was given a mid-match guard of honour in his final appearance for the club, an idea he came up with himself.

Terry was selected in the Chelsea starting line-up for the final time on Sunday (21 May) for the last game of the season against Sunderland having announced earlier this year his decision to leave the club after 22 years.

After 26 minutes, with the score tied at 1-1 following a shock opener from Sunderland's Javi Manquillo and an equaliser from Willian, Terry's no. 26 was put up on the substitute's board and Gary Cahill was sent on in his place.

His Chelsea teammates formed a guard of honour as the former England international walked towards the touchline, where he was embraced by manager Antonio Conte.

And according to the Independent, the whole charade was Terry's idea.

The 36-year-old commented during his farewell in west London: "I kind of negotiated with the manager to play 26 minutes and come off. I think he wanted to get the boys that didn't play on Monday night against Watford and give them a run-out. It was a compromise between the two of us."

Sunderland manager David Moyes, meanwhile, revealed after the game that his side had agreed to go along with the show, putting the ball out of play when the clock struck 26 minutes so the change could take place.

"We knew it was coming and we agreed to put the ball out," the Black Cats boss said.

Terry re-emerged after the final whistle had been blown as Chelsea were presented with the Premier League trophy.

Unsurprisingly, Terry's big moment didn't go down quite as well on social media as it did with those in attendance at Stamford Bridge.

Goals from Willian, Eden Hazard, Pedro and a brace from Michy Batshuayi, the man who sealed Chelsea's title triumph with a late goal against West Brom two weeks ago, marked an easy win for the champions, who fell behind after just three minutes.