John Terry racism trial: Chelsea captain says Anton Ferdinand's brother Rio would not answer his phone calls

On the third day of his trial John Terry stressed he wanted to speak to police about alleged racist abuse because "there was nothing out there that would show that I had done anything wrong". The Chelsea captain also revealed he tried to contact Rio Ferdinand following the allegations but his alleged victim's brother wouldn't answer.

Case for the defence: John Terry continues to give evidence to the court 

The 31-year-old England and Chelsea defender is accused of calling Anton Ferdinand a "f****** black c***" during a Premier League game on Oct 23 last year.

He denies a racially aggravated public order offence, saying he was sarcastically repeating the slur that Ferdinand mistakenly thought he had used.

Continuing his evidence at Westminster Magistrates' Court today, Terry said: "I knew there was nothing out there that would show that I had done anything wrong.

"I was keen to go forward with my police statement, my FA statement. If I had anything to hide I wouldn't have done that."

He said he made a statement before seeing any film footage of the incident.

"If there was ever any doubt in my mind, I could have held back, soaked it up and thought 'Let's wait until tomorrow, let's see what kind of footage is out there."

Earlier, prosecutor Duncan Penny put it to Terry that he had made a remark about having sex with Ferdinand's girlfriend, in response to taunts about his alleged affair with a team-mate's ex-partner. Terry denied this.

Terry said Ferdinand's brother Rio, with whom he played at the heart of England's defence, would not take his call in the aftermath.

Terry, Chelsea's most successful captain, tried to phone the Manchester United defender to discuss media reports of the allegations because he did not have Anton Ferdinand's phone number.

Mr Penny, describing the allegations against Terry as "big potatoes", said he could have spoken to the alleged victim.

He said: "You might have got in touch with Mr Ferdinand and said 'Help me out here – this is going completely nuts'."

Terry, wearing a dark suit and pink tie, said he spoke to Jamie Morallee, who helped both players out with property investments in the same street.

Terry said: "I did attempt to call Rio and he wouldn't take my call, I didn't have Anton's number."

Mr Penny countered Terry's account that he issued a statement quickly because he had nothing to hide by saying: "In the game of PR it's very important to get your story out quickly, isn't it?"

It is expected Terry's Chelsea and England team-mate Ashley Cole will give evidence today.

Arsenal striker Robin van Persie confirms he won't sign a new contract with Arsène Wenger's side

Manchester City are ready to bid £20 million for Robin van Persie after the Arsenal captain issued an extraordinary statement in which he outlined his desire to leave and openly questioned the club’s direction under Arsène Wenger.

Summer wonder: Robin van Persie is also a target for Juventus 

Arsenal reacted on Wednesday night by saying that they were “confident” that Van Persie would see out a contract which does not expire until next summer but, privately, are furious that their star player should go public with such a provocative statement.

They were given no prior warning that Van Persie was planning to speak out, with Wenger and chief executive Ivan Gazidis especially seething over the conduct of Kees Vos, the Dutchman’s agent.

Arsenal are well aware that Vos was a guest at the Etihad last season of Brian Marwood, the Manchester City director of football administration, and they believe that Van Persie is being badly advised.

Telegraph Sport revealed in May that Van Persie was not willing to extend his contract and, late on Wednesday afternoon, he confirmed on his website that he would definitely not sign a new deal.

He then went on to say that, during a meeting with Wenger and Gazidis, it had “become clear to me that we in many aspects disagree on the way Arsenal FC should move forward”.

Van Persie’s statement is being interpreted as a blatant attempt to force a move this summer and, while Arsenal have received no bids or inquiries, the clear suspicion is that he is now actively trying to generate an auction among Europe’s leading clubs.

The desire of Manchester City and Juventus to sign Van Persie is no secret but, according to sources, Manchester United are also now interested. Barcelona, Real Madrid and Chelsea will also consider their position.

City want to find buyers for some of their existing strikers, including Emmanuel Adebayor and Roque Santa Cruz, before finalising a deal for Van Persie. As with Samir Nasri last summer, United’s problem would be to match both the wages and transfer fee that City can offer. They have also not paid a transfer fee for a player over the age of 28 since Dimitar Berbatov four years ago.

Wenger now faces the nightmare of a repeat of last summer’s saga when his captain, then Cesc Fàbregas, was also desperate to leave. Fàbregas was eventually granted his move to Barcelona and Wenger must now weigh up the advantages of a quick sale and no prolonged uncertainty or acrimony against the damage to his team from losing Van Persie.

Only this week, he referred to Arsenal’s dependency on Van Persie and said that he wanted to keep the Dutchman at “all costs”.

One advantage this summer is that Wenger has already recruited two potential replacements in Lukas Podolski and Olivier Giroud. Both, however, are unproven in the Premier League and are likely to need a season to fully adapt.

Wenger’s initial reaction on Wednesday night was that the club should hold Van Persie to his contract unless there is an extraordinary offer.

He also sanctioned a statement from Arsenal that suggested they would still try to persuade him to stay for another season. “We have to respect Robin’s decision not to renew his contract,” said the club statement.

“Robin has one year to run on his current contract and we are confident that he will fulfil his commitments to the club.”

The situation will come to a head in 10 days’ time, if not sooner, with Van Persie expected back for pre-season training on July 16 and then due to travel with Arsenal to Malaysia for the start of their summer tour on July 21.

Van Persie, though, said that the decision not to extend his contract was based on sporting and not financial considerations.

“As announced earlier this year I had a meeting with the Boss [Wenger] and Mr Gazidis after the season,” said Van Persie. “This was a meeting about the club’s future strategy and their policy. Financial terms or a contract have not been discussed, since that is not my priority at all.

“I personally have had a great season but my goal has been to win trophies with the team and to bring the club back to its glory days.

“Out of my huge respect for Mr Wenger, the players and the fans I don’t want to go into any details, but unfortunately in this meeting it has again become clear to me that we in many aspects disagree on the way Arsenal FC should move forward. As soon as Mr Gazidis is back from his two-week holiday in America further meetings will follow.”

Arsenal on Wednesday night denied, however, that Gazidis was on a two-week holiday.