Chelsea's decision to offer John Terry a new one-year contract may have been influenced by incoming manager Antonio Conte, according to Marcel Desailly.
Terry's future was a source of constant speculation for the second half of last season after he revealed in February that the club had not offered him an extension.
But, after months of uncertainty, the 35-year-old penned fresh terms in May to extend his stay at Stamford Bridge for at least one more campaign.
And former Blues defender Desailly believes Conte's intervention could have been a crucial factor in the west Londoners' U-turn in regards to their captain's future.
"Maybe he [Conte] had power over it," said Desailly when asked about Terry's new deal.
"Chelsea as the rule said look we don't give contracts out more than one year or they made a statement that they don't want John to stay.
"But then probably Conte said, 'wait, wait, wait, he's historic, let me discuss with him and explain to him what I want to do next season'.
"Maybe the discussion went very well so Chelsea in that case said we are ready to give a contract for another year to the leader of the team," said the World Cup winner.
Chelsea 2016/17 pre-season fixtures
However, Desailly is hopeful that Terry will not retire after his current deal expires next summer and will broaden his horizons by moving abroad.
"But I hope he will not retire after this year and will continue to try to play in a different country," he added.
Terry is set to fight for regular game time with Gary Cahill, Kurt Zouma and Branislav Ivanovic as Chelsea look to reclaim their place in the top four next term.
