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#3 Steven Gerrard
Steven Gerrard is a Liverpool legend in every sense of the word, but he briefly contemplated a move to Chelsea in the 2004-05 season.
The long-time Liverpool captain was arguably Liverpool's most loyal servant, having spent over 25 years at his boyhood club. Gerrard won nine major trophies during his stint at Anfield, including the historic 2005 Champions League title.
While Liverpool have historically been a big club, and have regained their top status in recent years, Gerrard stuck with the club through an indifferent spell when the Reds struggled to qualify for Champions League football.
In the summer transfer window of 2014, Chelsea made an audacious €20 million bid for Gerrard. The intention was to team up the prolific midfielder with his English teammate, Frank Lampard, and Claude Makelele to form one of the best midfield trios in the game.
Gerrard publicly stated his desire to leave, and the deal was all but done. After several phone calls and discussions with his family and even death threats from angry fans, the Englishman decided to carry on at his boyhood club.
Following the transfer saga, the now-41-year-old said:
"I've not been happy with the progress the club had made, and for the first time in my career I thought about the possibility of moving on. But I've gone with my heart. I've made a decision to stay at Liverpool, and I am 100% committed to the club."
#2 Neymar
PSG superstar Neymar was once the subject of intense interest from Chelsea during his time at Santos.
Neymar was highly sought-after before his move to Barcelona, with European powerhouses like Real Madrid, Manchester United and Bayern Munich keen on the youngster's signature. The Brazilian revealed the details of his failed move to Chelsea in his autobiography, 'Neymar - My Story: Conversations with my Father':
"My father and I had a meeting with president Luis Alvaro at the Santos headquarters inside the Vila Belmiro. Chelsea had made a huge transfer bid. In the middle of our conversation, the president turned off the lights and pointed at an empty chair," said Neymar.
He added:
"This is the chair of the great national sports hero. Since Ayrton Senna's death, this chair is vacant. If Neymar Jr stays in Santos and refuses Chelsea's proposal, he will give his first step to sit in this chair. Even Pele called me. Can you imagine how important I felt? The King of Football called and asked me to stay."
#1 Kylian Mbappe
In an interview with The Players' Tribune last year, Kylian Mbappe revealed he came close to signing for Chelsea as a youth player.
At the tender age of 11, the Frenchman made the trip to London for trials at Chelsea, and was extremely impressed with the facilities and vision of the club. While Mbappe was keen on moving to Stamford Bridge, his parents intervened to stop the move from happening.
In the aforementioned interview, Mbappe said:
"When I was 11 years old, I got to go to London for a few days to train with Chelsea's youth team. I even met Drogba." He went on to add, "They wanted me to stay at home so that I could be a child and live a normal life. I didn't understand it at the time, but it was actually the best thing for me, because I learned a lot of hard lessons that I would have never learned in a bubble at an academy."
When Chelsea asked Kylian Mbappe to return for a second training session, his mother apparently intervened and said:
"My son will not go back, either they sign him now or within five years they'll have to offer 50 million euros to tie him down."
The Frenchman would play one match for Chelsea's youth team against Charlton Athletic during his one-week stint at Stamford Bridge.
