One has to hand it to managers Antonio Conte and Jose Mourinho for handling a potentially awkward situation with great tact, diplomacy but also single-mindedness.
Terry and Rooney are all-time club legends and the last two survivors from England's Golden Generation. Yet with their powers diminished by age and miles on the clock, their managers have managed to keep them inside the club but not centre-stage. There has been no big fall-outs, no war of words, just a gradual acceptance on all sides that the future of Chelsea and Manchester United must carry on without two huge figures from the past.
And through the transformation, both managers have been totally respectful.
'John is doing great work on the pitch and outside the pitch. It's important to underline this,' said Conte about his club captain, who has made only 10 first-team appearances this season and not started a Premier League game since September.
Likewise, Mourinho allowed Rooney enough time to break Manchester United's all-time scoring record, whilst making it clear he will be surplus to requirements next season. It is the record of the biggest club in England and one of the biggest in the world. Now Wayne becomes a legend of Manchester United,' said Mourinho, after the forward passed Sir Bobby Charlton's mark against Stoke on January 21.
But the United captain has been picked to start in just one Premier League game since, with various unspecified injuries mentioned.
It's hard to emphasise what a difficult juggling job this must have been for Conte and Mourinho, who have shown admirable leadership qualities to handle the situation.
Terry, 36, is the Captain, Leader, Legend who has been the focal point of all Roman Abramovich's success at Stamford Bridge, winning four Premier League titles and notoriously appearing in full Chelsea kit to lift the Champions League in 2012 even though he was suspended for the final.
In his time, Terry had the power to effectively remove managers like Luiz Felipe Scolari and last season won a stand-off with Abramovich to earn himself a one-year deal for this season.
If Terry thought he was going to play a major role under Conte, he has been misguided with the Italian realising he no longer had the legs to be a major part of a title-winning team, even in a back three.
So Chelsea have forged a 10-point lead at the top of the table with Cesar Azpilucueta, David Luiz and Gary Cahill at the heart of the defence, while Terry has been largely wheeled out for FA Cup fixtures against lower-league opposition, getting a red card against Peterborough. This will be his final season at Stamford Bridge but he'll leave safe in the knowledge he would get into the vast majority of all-time Premier League XIs.
The Rooney situation is slightly different in that he is only 31 and in his own mind can still be a major player at the top.
Having broken the England and United goalscoring records, he has one further ambition, to pass Peter Shilton's 125 caps (he is currently on 118).
That now looks unlikely with Gareth Southgate leaving him out of the current England squad, citing a lack of regular first-team games for United.
Having seen what happened to Louis van Gaal for not having Rooney's support, Mourinho was careful to give the player his chance at the beginning of the season.
United won their first three league games with Rooney supporting Zlatan Ibrahimovic but once the wheels came off with defeats by Manchester City and Watford, the captain was sacrificed for the 4-1 victory against Leicester on September 24.
Paul Pogba and Marcus Rashford were allowed to play further forward and express themselves without Rooney and with Ibrahimovic assured of his No 9 spot with 26 goals, the No 10 has slipped out of the reckoning as a regular starter. Indeed, his appearances have become more infrequent, particularly since breaking his record, and a summer move to Everton or China now looks inevitable despite the forward having two years left on his contract. Five goals in 34 appearances this season underline why he no longer carries a sufficient goal threat for Mourinho.
When superstar players are in decline, they have to be handled with particular care. There was no way back for Ruud Gullit when he dropped Alan Shearer without showing due deference. Brendan Rodgers was never able to handle the Steven Gerrard situation at Liverpool.
But Conte and Mourinho, with the full backing of their bosses, have been able to phase out Terry and Rooney in a manner which has helped the club without belittling the player.
Old soldiers never die.
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