5 best Chelsea midfielders of all time

Chelsea have a rich history and since the turn of the millennia, we have witnessed them transform into a European powerhouse. Over the past two decades, we have seen quite a lot of special footballers strut their stuff for Chelsea.

Ever since Roman Abramovich took the reins of the club, Chelsea have been able to attract some of the most talented players in the world. Their academy and scouting programs have flourished as well.

Chelsea has been home to some of the best midfielders of the Premier League era

Chelsea's journey to Premier League and Champions League glory in recent times started in the early 2000s under Jose Mourinho. Under new manager Thomas Tuchel, they look ready to mount a challenge on all fronts and once again, and their team is filled to the brim with exciting talent.

Stamford Bridge is home to some of the best technicians of the 21st century and without further ado, let's take a look at five of the best Chelsea midfielders of all time.

#5 Cesc Fabregas

It was a tight call between Cesc Fabregas and Juan Mata. We chose to go with the former because of the class he showed over a longer period of time in Chelsea's midfield. The Spanish maestro is one of the best passers of the ball in the modern era and showed us plenty of that mastery during his stints at Arsenal, Barcelona and Chelsea.

He could split open the most organized of defenses with incisive through balls and instill a sense of calm every time he got on the ball. Fabregas' work-rate is often underappreciated and though he was not the quickest player around, he made up for it with his doggedness and tenacity.

Fabregas has struck up great partnerships with strikers at every club he has played for. He was at his creative best in the 2014-15 season, producing 18 assists, scoring three goals in the Premier League and playing a heavy hand in Chelsea winning the league title with an eight-point lead.

Fabregas stayed at Chelsea for five seasons and was one of their best players once again when the Blues won the Premier League title two years later under the tutelage of Antonio Conte. By the time he left, Fabregas had won two Premier League titles, one Europa League title, one FA Cup and one League Cup.

#4 Claude Makelele

Claude Makelele is one of the best defensive midfielders of the modern era. He was so good at playing anchorman and shielding his defense that the role he played came to be known as the 'Claude Makelele role'.

Makelele had a long and successful career and his being shown the exit door at Real Madrid in callous fashion did feel like poor judgment on Florentino Perez's side. One team's loss proved to be another's gain as Makelele proved to be a perfect fit for Jose Mourinho's Chelsea side.

Makelele never switched off on the football field. He wasn't the biggest defensive midfielder out there but he made up for his lack of size with his footballing intelligence. He was an effective destroyer of attacks and was key to Chelsea's transitions from defense to attack.

But to say that he was Chelsea's muscle in midfield would be reductive and a disservice to his passing range and dribbling ability which enabled him to almost play like a deep-lying playmaker.

Makelele's presence in midfield went a long way towards affording Frank Lampard the freedom to attack with abandon and become one of the finest attacking midfielders in the game.

Makelele won two Premier League titles, one FA Cup and two League Cup during his five-year stint at Chelsea.

#3 N'Golo Kante

Manchester City v Chelsea - Premier League

Chelsea midfielder N'Golo Kante has got an endearing personality but on the football pitch, he is an uncompromising individual. The dogged French midfielder has no qualms covering every blade of grass and has already done enough at Chelsea to attain the status of a legend.

Kante won the Premier League with Leicester City before moving to Chelsea and holding the fort down in midfield as the Blues won the league title under Antonio Conte the very next season. He went on to win the Chelsea Player of the Year Award in 2018.

He was arguably the best holding midfielder in the Premier League at the time and though he has played in a more advanced role in recent seasons, he is still one of the best ball-winning midfielders in the English top-flight.

Kante's tactical intelligence is also worthy of praise and his ability to snuff out passes and even sneak in and score a goal every once in a while makes him a great asset to have. The 30-year-old has won one Premier League title, one Europa League title and one FA Cup in his Chelsea stint so far.

#2 Michael Essien

Chelsea v Blackburn Rovers - Premier League

One of the best box-to-box midfielders the Premier League has ever seen, Michael Essien was pacy, strong and packed a dynamite of a shot. The Ghana international joined Chelsea in 2005 and became a vital cog in Jose Mourinho's system in no time.

Essien's technical proficiency allowed him to even play at right-back at times and up until his constant knee problems started catching up with him, Essien continued to be a dominant force in midfield.

He possessed incredible stamina which enabled him to contribute in both attack and defense and has scored some brilliant goals in his time at Stamford Bridge.His unforgettable strike against Arsenal in the dying embers of the game in the 2006-07 season won him the Goal of the Year award.

He won one Champions League title, two Premier League titles, four FA Cups and a League Cup before leaving the club in 2014.

#1 Frank Lampard

Bolton Wanderers v Chelsea - Premier League

Well, no surprises here. Frank Lampard is inarguably the best Chelsea midfielder of all time. He joined the club in 2001 from West Ham United and is one of the most prolific midfielders in the history of the game. He scored 211 goals for Chelsea from midfield.

Usually deployed as an attacking player in a midfield trio, Frank Lampard is famous for his screamers from range and his shooting ability was second to none. He was the kind of player that managers love to have on their side, driving their team forward during hard times and always showing the right attitude on the pitch.

Lampard played a big role in Chelsea's growth as a Premier League giant. In addition to his technical and tactical prowess, his durability went a long way towards making him one of the greatest players in the history of the Premier League.

Lampard holds the record for the most consecutive appearances by an outfield player in the Premier League, making 164 appearances between August 2001 and December 2005.

Lampard was released by Chelsea in 2014 and by then he had won one Champions League title, three Premier League titles, four FA Cups and two League Cups.

About the author

Shambhu is a European and international football journalist at Sportskeeda who focuses on previews, listicles and news articles. An ardent Manchester United supporter since before his teenage years, he started following the Red Devils by age 10 watching MUTV on television. Shambhu is also a highly-revered rapper and a playback singer on Spotify, having a whopping 1 million monthly listeners.

For his articles, Shambhu believes in triple-checking every piece of information, relying on trusted websites like Transfermarkt and Opta, and staying away from speculative publications. He believes that his law degree helped him to be more articulate and meticulous with his content and one of his core strengths is seamlessly involving emotion in his write-ups owing to the love for the sport. For Sportskeeda, has done exclusive interviews with Spanish legends Gaizka Mendieta and Fernando Morientes so far, and his articles boast of a huge readership of close to 50 million.

Shambhu's favorite footballer is Lionel Messi, and the Argentine attaining glory in 2022 is his favorite FIFA World Cup moment. He believes only Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland could replicate Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo's rivalry in the years to come. His favorite manager is Sir Alex Ferguson due to the Scot's unmatched longevity at the top.

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Edited by Shambhu Ajith