Roman Abramovich’s stint at Chelsea as the Chairman has been, without a doubt, immensely beneficial for the club. It was in mid-2003 that the London-based club was no longer financially viable due to dodgy transfer deals and poorly executed business decisions.
Amidst all of this, Abramovich, a Russian billionaire, invested millions pulling the club out of debt. He brought in several new players, a new manager, and within two years, Chelsea had won its first title.
Despite winning every trophy available over the next few years, ‘The Russian Empire’ has had its share of problems. Over the transfer windows, we have witnessed what Abramovich’s Chelsea does. Ruthlessly chewing up the brightest talents, the club then defecates it out of the Stamford Bridge.
On this note, here we list the biggest players, whom Roman Abramovich has discarded since taking over Chelsea in 2004.
#7 Andre Schurrle
Andre Schurrle arrived at Stamford Bridge in the summer of 2013 from Bayer Leverkusen for a reported fee of £18 million. Dubbed as one of the brightest talents in Germany, Schurrle managed to find the net in almost every other match from the midfield at Chelsea.
Coming on as a substitute in most of the matches he went on to score 8 goals from 30 appearances in the first season. However, midway through the second season, the German was let off by Chelsea as he went on to join Bundesliga side Wolfsburg.
In the 2014 World Cup, Schurrle went on to win the World Cup with Germany, scoring three goals in the process despite coming off the bench every time. It still remains a mystery as to why Chelsea let him leave when he was just 24 years old and about to hit peak form.
#6 Daniel Sturridge
British forward Daniel Sturridge arrived at Chelsea as a 20-year-old from Manchester City for an initial fee of £3.5 million back in 2010. Lasting only three seasons at the club and playing largely out of position, he went on to score 13 goals in 63 Premier League appearances.
In his loan spell at Bolton Wanderers, he scored eight goals in just 12 appearances playing as a forward. However, Abramovich let him leave as he joined Liverpool on a permanent deal in the 2013 winter transfer window for a fee of £12 million.
Since joining the Merseyside club, Sturridge has scored 43 goals in 76 league appearances, despite the fact that his career has been marred by injuries. It would be fair to assume that he does not miss Stamford Bridge at all.
#5 Juan Mata
Spanish midfield maestro Juan Mata joined Chelsea in 2011 for a fee of £23.5 million from Valencia. In the two-and-a-half years, he was at Stamford Bridge, Mata showed the world what he was capable of.
In that period, he won the UEFA Champions League, the Europa League and the FA Cup. Mata was named Chelsea’s Player of the Year for two consecutive seasons as he made the number 10 position his own. He scored 18 Premier League goals in his stint for the Blues.
However, he was deemed surplus to requirements by Jose Mourinho and was sold off to Premier League rivals Manchester United for a fee of £37 million – a move sanctioned by Abramovich. Mata being a fan favorite, his departure did not do any good for the Russian’s reputation in England.
#4 Romelu Lukaku
Romelu Lukaku was signed by Chelsea from Anderlecht in 2011 when he was one of the hottest young strikers around. With no assurances of regular involvement, the striker left Stamford Bridge permanently in 2014.
He had two successive loan spells at West Brom and at Everton in which he scored 17 and 15 goals in the Premier League for the respective sides. Once looked upon as a viable replacement for Didier Drogba, the Belgian failed to make his mark at Chelsea and failed to find the net even once for the Blues.
Roman Abramovich had, by then, brought in Diego Costa and Lukaku was discarded. He joined Everton and has been in terrific form for the Toffees and has scored 35 league goals since the permanent deal in 2014 as he continues to thrive as a forward.
#3 Petr Cech
It is unbelievable that a shot-stopper of Petr Cech’s abilities was discarded by the Chelsea hierarchy. Cech was one of the pioneers in Chelsea’s resurgence in 2004 under Roman Abramovich. During his time at Stamford Bridge, he won the Golden Glove award three times.
However, when a young Thibaut Courtois was recalled in the 2014-15 season, Cech was forced to sit out with the reserves. Thereby, Chelsea allowed the Czech Republic goalkeeper to move to bitter rivals Arsenal – a move frowned upon by the fans.
Cech, however, only seemed to get better at the Emirates as he kept the highest number of clean sheets in the league in the 2015-16 season with Arsenal, thus winning the Golden Glove a record fourth time. With Courtois not having the best of outings nowadays, Abramovich’s decision to offload the player might prove costly in the future.
#2 Kevin de Bruyne
One of Europe’s biggest prospects, Kevin de Bruyne was snapped up by Abramovich when he was a subtle youngster at Genk. However, he was loaned to Werder Bremen on joining the London club, where he excelled in his role scoring 10 goals in 33 appearances.
The Belgian playmaker returned to Chelsea with Mourinho assuring that he was in his plans for the season. Despite this, he would only make 3 appearances for the Blues before moving back to Germany when Wolfsburg bought him for a fee of £18 million.
At Wolfsburg, de Bruyne had one of the most successful spells of his career. He ended the 2014-15 season with 16 goals and 27 assists in all competitions and was named the 2015 Footballer of the year in Germany. Manchester City did not waste time and bought him for a fee of £55 million in the summer of 2015 and he has been superlative form ever since.
Also Read: Jose Mourinho didn't want to sell Kevin De Bruyne at Stamford Bridge
#1 Arjen Robben
Chelsea signed Dutch winger Arjen Robben in 2004 for a fee of £12 million from PSV Eindhoven. He was just 20 years of age at that time and proved to be one of Abramovich’s best investments.
Despite being thronged with injuries, he proved to be crucial for Chelsea as they secured a second successive Premier League title. In the three seasons at Stamford Bridge, he scored 15 goals in 67 League appearances and ended his Chelsea career with an FA Cup victory over Manchester United in 2007.
Real Madrid duly bought the talented winger and since then the Dutchman has only got better with age. He took the Dutch national side to the World Cup final in 2010 and has won many trophies with Bayern Munich. Chelsea fans still rue as to why Abramovich let him leave just when he was about to hit peak form.
