Roman Abramovich’s time as the owner of Chelsea FC is coming to a close. And while the Russian still owns the club, the days of signing almost every player he desired to Stamford Bridge has ended. From the transfer of Romelu Lukaku for a club-record £97.5m in 2021, to signing a then relatively-unknown figure of Didier Drogba in 2003, it’s been a stunning past few decades in west London. Here we rank Abramovich’s top five signings after agreeing to sell the club.
5) Petr Cech
Petr Cech is one of the finest keepers the Premier League has ever produced. Despite the signing of Edouard Mendy in goal being one of the primary reasons for the Champions League returning to the Bridge recently, Cech set the standard so high for a decade that even Mendy has more work to do to reach his levels.
494 appearances would come for Cech with Chelsea, combined with four Premier League medals, a Champions League, Europa League, three League Cups, and four FA Cups, he’s one of the most successful keepers in modern English soccer history.
The Czech Republic legend would also be involved in the PFA Team of the Year twice which remarkably came nine years apart (2004/05, 2013/14), while Cech also won the prestigious Golden Glove three times with Chelsea.
4) Ashley Cole
Following a legendary run with Arsenal, Ashley Cole would go on to become the greatest left-back England and the Premier League had ever seen after 338 appearances for Chelsea.
Oddly enough, Cole was more successful at Arsenal on the domestic front before his controversial switch to west London. But the English legend still brought in a Premier League title and four FA Cups with Chelsea.
However, it was the 2012 Champions League triumph when Cole cemented his status as a Chelsea great. After winning the Chelsea Player of the Year in 2011, he won the award for the second time and subsequently won that claim more than any other man alongside Eden Hazard and Willian.
The best left-back to ever do it in England.
3) Cesar Azpilicueta
There’s an argument to put in names like N’Golo Kante and Claude Makélélé this far up the list due to their excellence at midfield for the Blues. However, the two brought in a similar number of medals each within a similar amount of appearances, making it tough to rank one above the other.
Cesar Azpilicueta comes as a controversial choice then, as not many choose to include full-backs. Yett only John Terry (492), Frank Lampard (429) and Cech (333) have had more appearances for Chelsea in the Premier League than hime. He also became the 13th player in team history to make 400 appearances this season. Now, with 461 appearances and counting across a decade of service that brought in nine major trophies, Azpilicueta is a must-have on this list.
There’s also something magical about signing the right-back for only £7 million compared to the millions thrown around the English game to find the very best. Chelsea, however, found one of their best ever for a price more than £90m cheaper than Lukaku.
2) Eden Hazard
Despite not being part of the famous Jose Mourinho and Carlo Ancelotti days, Hazard has become one of the first names on the teamsheet of the all-time Chelsea XI. Hazard won the Players’ Player of the Year award a joint-record twice, the Player of the Year a record four times, and by winning the Premier League Player of the Season in 2015 and the PFA Fans’ Player of the Year three years later, the Belgian became the most successful Chelsea man from an individual standpoint in the Abramovich era.
Hazard won the Europa League twice, the Premier League twice, and scored 110 times across 352 games in what is one of the greatest seven-year stays in Premier League history. The winger absolutely embarrassed defenders at times, and his Chelsea highlight reel is about as good as it gets in the past decade of Premier League action.
- Didier Drogba
In reality, there couldn’t be anyone else other than Didier Drogba. Yes, Terry and Lampard were arguably more effective for the Blues in the Abramovich era, but one was a youth product and the other was signed two years before the Russian billionaire came in.
Drogba would sign from Marseille back in 2004 and instantly play a prominent role in winning Chelsea the Premier League for the first ever time with 10 goals in 26 games. A further three Premier League titles would come in across 10 seasons with the club, plus 164 goals in 381 appearances.
The striker wasn’t the most deadly forward of his time with names like Lampard bagging more for Chelsea when they both played. However, with a career record of 10 goals in 10 finals helping his side win 10 trophies, Drogba is the absolute finest ‘big game player’ they’ve ever had and the best player Abramovich signed.
Drogba also scored the decisive penalty in the shootout against Bayern Munich in the Champions League final back in 2012, and there’s never been a more important kick in the club’s entire history.
-Grant McQuillan
Twitter: @Grant_McQuillan