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It would fair to assume that no Premier League club sells and loans out as many players as Chelsea do every season.
The Blues have so many outgoing players every season because of two reasons. Firstly, they buy numerous players at a young age and send them out on loan. Very few of these players end up playing for Chelsea’s first team and as a result, these players are usually sold for a profit.
Secondly, Chelsea have hired 11 different managers under Roman Abramovich in 15 years. Each manager has his own style of play and tactics, therefore, chances are that many of the players who are at the club may not fit into the philosophy and tactics of the new manager.
For example, Victor Moses was a peripheral figure at Chelsea before Antonio Conte’s arrival and spent three seasons on loan while he was contracted to Chelsea. The Nigerian, however, played a key role as a right-wing back under Conte as Chelsea went on to win the Premier League. Under Sarri, Moses is once again a fringe player at the club with an uncertain future.
As a result of the constant change in the Chelsea squad, five former Blues are currently playing in the Chinese Super League.
#5 Alexandre Pato (Tianjin Quanjian)
Alexandre Pato is the only player in this list who played for Chelsea on a loan deal.
The Brazilian was once considered as one of the brightest prospects in football and the future of the Brazil national team after picking up the prestigious Golden Boy award in 2009. However, a series of injuries stopped him from realizing his potential.
Pato joined Chelsea on a loan deal in the second half of the 2015/16 season and only played two games for the Blues but found the back of the net once in Chelsea colours albeit being from the spot.
He signed for Villarreal on a permanent deal after his brief stint in the Premier League before joining Chinese Super League club Tianjin Quanjian in January 2017. The 29-year-old has 31 goals in 53 games for the Chinese club.
#4 Demba Ba (Shanghai Shenhua)
Demba Ba was at Chelsea for only a season and a half, playing 51 games and scoring 14 goals despite playing the 2013/14 season as Chelsea’s third choice striker behind Fernando Torres and Samuel Eto’o.
In his final season with Chelsea, he famously scored an 87th-minute goal against PSG in the Champions League to send Chelsea through to the semi-finals and also against Liverpool at Anfield following Steven Gerrard’s infamous slip to severely dent Liverpool’s maiden Premier League title hopes.
He left Chelsea to join Turkish giants Besiktas before joining Shanghai Shenhua for the first time in 2015. He returned to Turkey to play for Besiktas and Göztepe before rejoining Shanghai Shenhua in June 2018.
The 33-year-old has 31 goals in 43 games for Shanghai Shenhua in his two stints combined.
#3 John Obi Mikel (Tianjin TEDA)
Almost the entirety of John Obi Mikel’s career in Europe was with Chelsea. He joined the Blues in 2006 from Norwegian club Lyn for whom he had played just six games.
Mikel played 374 games for Chelsea in ten and a half seasons but he always found himself in and out of the starting XI without ever cementing his place in the side. However, he played a crucial role as Chelsea won the Champions League in 2012 and in the final, he played the entire 120 minutes.
The Nigerian’s contract was due to expire at the end of the 2016/17 season and Chelsea opted against extending it. In January 2017, he left Chelsea on a free transfer to sign for Tianjin TEDA.
The 31-year-old is a regular for the CSL club and is also their present vice-captain.
#2 Ramires (Jiangsu Suning)
Ramires is another midfielder who played a starring role in Chelsea’s Champions League winning campaign. He famously scored in the semifinal against Barcelona at Nou Camp to put Chelsea ahead on away goals despite being a man down.
The Brazilian midfielder joined Chelsea from Benfica before the likes of David Luiz and Nemanja Matic followed suit.
Ramires was with Chelsea for five and a half seasons playing 246 games scoring 33 goals. During his stint with Chelsea, he won the Premier League, FA Cup, League Cup, Champions League, and Europa League before leaving in January 2016.
The 31-year-old has been with Jiangsu Suning since and has scored 17 goals in 71 games for them.
#1 Oscar (Shanghai SIPG)
It’s still difficult to fathom why a player of Oscar’s talent left Europe to play in China in the prime of his career when he had offers from Atletico Madrid and Italy, but according to the player, ‘China makes offers players can’t refuse’.
Oscar joined Chelsea in 2012 when he was nearing his 22nd birthday and he scored 23 goals from midfield in his first two seasons with the Blues. When Oscar left the club two and a half years later, he only added 15 more goals to his tally.
The constant change in managers was one reason why Oscar’s Chelsea career eventually fizzled out but the player seems to be happy in China playing for Shanghai SIPG.
The 27-year-old has played 72 games in China scoring 25 goals alongside his compatriot Hulk and he could win his maiden title league title in China this year.
