The former defender was the subject of ridicule when Chelsea won the tournament in 2012 and although he had been suspended for the match, John joined his teammates in the procession to receive a medal and lift the trophy while wearing his kit, but he’s insisted he had been ordered by UEFA to do so.

Asked if he regrets the much-mocked decision, he told FourFourTwo magazine: “Ive taken the full brunt of this. I absolutely don’t regret wearing it.

“And people need to know; we had a letter from UEFA about it. When Man United won in 1999, Roy Keane and Paul Scholes were suspended and wore suits to the game. UEFA didn’t like that.

“Their direct message to us was that every player, regardless of whether they were in the team that night, had to be in full kit.

“Branislav Ivanovic and Paulo Ferrera were also suspended and they did it too.

“But I take the stick, as always. I was in full kit, boots, shinpads, captain’s armband, the lot. And I’d do it again.”

While he was unable to play in the final against Bayern Munich, John regards it as his best Chelsea game.

He said: “People often ask me for my best game for Chelsea and it’s that one – a game I didn’t play in.

“Just knowing what it meant to people, my teammates, the owner, the fans – it was indescribable.

“The funny thing is, of all the Chelsea sides I played in, that one felt the least like a Champions League-winning side.

“We were a far better squad in 2005-2005 and 2005-2006, we were better equipped, again, around 2009-2010.

“But 2012 we were older and it was the last-chance saloon.

“But we had that experience and also that bit of luck we didn’t have in previous years – in the semi against Barcelona and again against a very strong Bayern, in their own stadium, in the final…

“It was the greatest night for me, as a player, ever.”