Ranked: The 5 highest paid footballers at Chelsea

The Premier League was primarily dominated by the likes of Manchester United and Arsenal until the Russian Billionaire, Roman Abramovich took ownership of the side from West London. He cleared all the debts and made top investments to bring world-class players and staff at the Stamford Bridge.

The Blues won back-2-back league titles in the 2004-05 and 2005-06 season. Since then, Chelsea has been a force to reckon with backed by the financial power of Abramovich. In 2018, they were ranked by Forbes as the seventh most valuable club in the world.

A club like Chelsea is also known for players whose earnings are among the highest on the market. Here is a look at the top five highest earners at the club in the current campaign. (Source - silly season)

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#5 Jorginho - £102,000/week

Jorginho has already impressed in his first season with the Blues.

Jorginho signed for Chelsea in the summer following the footsteps of his manager Maurizio Sarri. The Brazillian who plays for Italy spent four years at Napoli winning the Coppa Italia and the Supercoppa Italiana in the process. Manchester City was also interested in signing Jorginho, but he chose Chelsea and the Italian.

Since his move to Stamford Bridge, Jorginho has been one of the standout performers in the Premier League. A player like Cesc Fàbregas is struggling to find a first-team place. Moreover, his distribution coupled up with his tackling ability is emphatic.

Jorginho's prefers to play as a holding midfielder just in front of the back four. However, at Chelsea, he had to deal with the best player in that position, N'Golo Kante. Not everyone could push Kante out of his preferred midfield role, but the Brazilian showed his class and quality to make the midfield position his own. He has already justified his wage of £102,000 per week and it could even go up further in years to come.

#4 Kante - £120,000/week

Kante deserves all the money he earns at Chelsea.

There are few players at Chelsea who earn a £120,000 per week salary, but Kante is chosen simply because of his importance in the team. The Frenchman started his Premier League career with Leicester City in 2015. In his debut campaign with the Foxes, he won the Premier League and was an integral part of the squad. There were many matches where Leicester dug out a 1-0 victory, and Kante got credit for the work he did in front of the defenders.

N'Golo's success for Leicester City saw Chelsea sign him the following season under the then manager, Antonio Conte. He was instrumental again as the Blues won the Premier League in Conte's first season at the club. The Frenchman is the best defensive midfielder in the Premier League.

Before the start of the current campaign, Kante went to lift the World Cup for France. He was a perfect deputy for Paul Pogba in the midfield. The arrival of Jorginho saw him moving out in a more advanced role for the Blues. Though it isn't his preferred position but the manager is adamant he'll get the best out of N'Golo in a more attacking role.

#3 Cesc Fàbregas - £156,000/week

Fàbregas is struggling to get game time at Chelsea.

Cesc Fàbregas's CV is a one which every player would envy. The Spaniard has the luxury of playing at top clubs in Europe which includes Arsenal, Barcelona, and Chelsea. Cesc signed for Arsenal in the 2003-04 campaign and made his debut in a League Cup tie against Rotherham United. The Gunners won the Premier League unbeaten through the season, but Fàbregas didn't get a winners medal as he was used in the Cup competitions only.

However, Cesc went on to have a few great years in his career at Arsenal before moving to Barcelona in the 2011-12 season. He hoped to make the same impact in Spain, but the fierce competition in the midfield saw his chances reduced. In his three years with Barcelona, Fàbregas won the La Liga, Copa del Rey, the FIFA World Cup, the UEFA Super Cup, and two Spanish Super Cups.

Cesc returned to England with Chelsea and was pivotal in their 2014-15 title-winning campaign under Jose Mourinho. Though he's struggling to get game time under Maurizio Sarri, his quality and ability are enough to earn him a £156,000 a week salary.

#2 Kepa Arrizabalaga - £192,000/week

Kepa has big boots to fill at Chelsea.

Chelsea have a history of producing world-class goalkeepers with the most noteworthy mention being Petr Čech. The Czech professional footballer considered as one of the Premier League's all-time best. He has a plethora of records under his belt which includes - the fewest appearances for hundred clean sheets, the most number of clean sheets in season and also the most amount of clean sheets in Premier League history.

Čech's successor, Courtois is another top goalkeeper who left the Blues this season for Real Madrid. The Belgian International was signed by Chelsea in 2011 but got loaned out to Athletico Madrid where he spent three seasons winning the Europa League, Copa Del Rey and the La Liga in the process.

The departure of Courtois allowed Chelsea to sign Athletico Bilbao's stopper Kepa, at a transfer fee which made him the most expensive goalkeeper in the world. He is also earning a whopping £192,000 a week salary which is quite high for someone who is yet to prove himself in the Premier League. However, only time will tell whether Chelsea were right to shelve out such a massive amount of money for the Spaniard.

#1 Eden Hazard - £200,000/week

Hazard could make big money move to Real Madrid next summer.

Eden Hazard is not only the best player in the Premier League but a contender for the Ballon d'Or in years to come.

The Belgian International signed for Chelsea in the 2010-11 season, and since then he has won two Premier League titles, the UEFA Europa League, the League Cup, and the FA Cup. Hazard also won the PFA Player of the Year award in the 2014-15 title-winning campaign.

Though Hazard's preferred position is the left wing, he played as a False 9 in many games. Despite his small stature, Eden is good at holding the ball up and distributing the play when necessary. His dribbling skills and finishing ability is the reason he got linked with top European clubs like Barcelona and Real Madrid.

Eden Hazard has earned every ounce of the salary he is receiving and the Blues might have to spend more to keep him at Stamford Bridge in the future.