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Roman Abramovich is very much the reason why Chelsea made the step up from a mid-table Premier League club to one of Europe’s elite in such a short time, but not all of his recruits have lived up to their usually massive price-tags.
5. Henrique Hilario
Although it may be unfair to include the veteran Portuguese goalkeeper in this list of Chelsea flops, but the former Porto man is now 38, is now in his 8th season with the Blues and has only turned out 20 times for the 2012 Champions League winners. Although he came in on a free transfer, there was little money wasted on the former Portugal international, but what they have wasted is a considerable part of the wage bill on a player who might as well not have been there for the past 8 years, overall not a good move for the Russian owner.
Not necessarily one of Chelsea’s worst ever players, it is more the large transfer fee mixed with the lack of impact made at Stamford bridge which condemns him to a place on the list. In 2008 Bosingwa was signed from Porto for a rather large fee of £16.2 million. The former Portugal international made 89 Premier League appearances over 4 years, scoring 3 goals in the process. Now at Turkish side Trabzonspor, the former Boavista man will be left wondering what could have been.
Former AC Milan star and Ballon d’Or winner Andriy Shevchenko made the move to London in the summer of 2006 for £30.8 million, breaking the transfer record at the time. Big things were expected of the Ukrainian, but 9 goals in 48 Premier League appearances sums up the former European Golden Boot winner’s career at the Blues. After a dismal loan spell back at Milan, he returned to boyhood club Dynamo Kyiv, where he retired in 2012.
2. Adrian Mutu
One of the most naturally talented players of his generation, the Romanian wizard scored 4 goals in his first 3 games at Stamford Bridge. The former Fiorentina man cost around £15.8 million back in 2003 when he signed from Serie A side Parma. Mutu’s relationship with Mourinho was patchy at best, and after Mutu failed a drugs test for Cocaine in September 2004, the damage was done. On 29th October 2004 he was released. On 12th January 2005, Mutu was picked up on a free transfer by Juventus, and to this day it is still debated if the Old Lady owe Chelsea any compensation.
The name that often follows the words ‘big money flop’, Fernando Torres is the perfect example of a player that didn’t live up to the price tag, or the hype. In 2011, Chelsea paid a mammoth £50m for the former Liverpool man, breaking the English transfer record. The Spain international hasn’t looked himself since leaving merseyside, loss of form and confidence have left Torres as one of the biggest laughing stocks in world football.
Although he should be remembered for scoring the goal that won Spain Euro 2008, or his wonderful solo effort against Marseille, it appears that the dubious miss against Manchester United still seems to be fresh in the mind of his doubters, and that unfortunately, is what he will be remembered by until he turns things around.
