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2. Petr Cech
Widely recognised as one of the best goalkeepers in Premier League history, Petr Cech arrived at Chelsea in 2004 from French side Rennes for what would prove to be a bargain fee of just £7m. Under boss Jose Mourinho, the Czech international established himself as the Blues’ #1 right away, and broke numerous records during his debut season, including, at the time, the longest period without letting in a goal (1,025 minutes) and the most clean sheets in Premier League history with 21.
Chelsea let in just 15 goals all season with Cech between the sticks, romping to the Premier League title, and it came as no surprise when they repeated the same feat in 2005-06. The Czech keeper played in 34 of Chelsea’s 38 league games, and the Blues let in just 22 goals.
In the seasons that followed, Cech would remain one of the league’s strongest goalkeepers, helping Chelsea to another Premier League title win in 2009-10 before playing a key role in their Champions League victory in 2011-12, saving a penalty from Arjen Robben in normal time during the final against Bayern Munich before stopping another 2 spot-kicks during the eventual penalty shoot-out.
2014-15 saw him win another Premier League title with the Blues – but this time he was largely deployed as a backup option to Thibaut Courtois, and he made just 7 appearances. Cech then departed Stamford Bridge for Arsenal in the summer of 2015, instantly becoming their first choice keeper – a role he played until his retirement in 2019, winning the FA Cup in 2016-17 along the way.
Cech has since returned to Chelsea in the role of a technical advisor.
