10 Worst Chelsea Transfers of All Time (Ranked) | OneFootball

Let's be honest here, Chelsea, post-Roman Abramovich's takeover in 2003, has never been shy in opening up the wallet.

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The Blues have splashed the cash and brought some serious quality to Stamford Bridge, winning numerous Premier League titles and even reaching the pinnacle of European football.

Now with American billionaire Todd Boehly at the helm, it's a new era at the Bridge. However, it's still early days to pass a verdict on his stewardship, especially when it comes to transfer dealings.

But hey, it hasn't always been sunshine and rainbows in west London, has it? With the number of players coming in each window, Chelsea have had their fair share of duds, face-palm signings that have left the fans shaking their heads in disbelief.

So, how about a trip down memory lane? Grab your popcorn, Blues fans, because here's the countdown you didn't know you needed (or maybe you did but didn't want to admit). We've crunched the numbers, scoured through the data provided by Transfermarkt, and revisited some old match reports to compile the definitive list of Chelsea's top 10 worst transfers of all time. It's the hall of shame, really, but what is football without its fair share of flops?

We're not here to point fingers or label anyone as the 'worst', but it's a game of opinions, right? So, these rankings aren't just about the price tags or how many zeroes were in their weekly wages, but also about their performances (or lack of), their fit within the squad, and the overall impact they had on Chelsea's fortunes, or misfortunes in these cases.

Remember, every player on this list came to Stamford Bridge with high hopes and expectations, only to leave fans wanting more, or in some cases, wanting them out of the door. It's a testament to the fact that even in a sport ruled by money, success is never guaranteed.

So, strap in as we kick off our countdown from number 10 and work our way to the 'top' spot, the unfortunate soul who has the dubious honour of being dubbed the worst Chelsea transfer of all time. It's all in good fun, though, and we're sure these players would look back and chuckle at their Chelsea stints... or maybe not.

10 Romelu Lukaku

Lukaku made a triumphant return to Chelsea in a £99.5 million deal back in 2021 after a glittering spell in the Italian top flight.

One bizarre tell-all interview later, a serious lack of form and a falling out with then-coach Thomas Tuchel meant Lukaku was cast into the shadows of the Bridge.

Eight goals in the Premier League simply didn't justify the nearly £100 million the Blues spent on Lukaku and thus he was sent packing back to Italy on loan to Inter Milan.

There is still a chance that Lukaku could return to Chelsea and become the star forward every Blues fan hoped for, alas, we just can't see that one happening.

9 Khalid Boulahrouz

Khalid Boula who? Chelsea signed the defender for £8.5 million at a time when the club were under the guidance of a skin-headed Jose Mourinho.

In all fairness, when Boulahrouz played he wasn't all that awful, but his minimal nine appearances for the Blues tell you all you need to know.

Mourinho evidently wasn't much of a fan of him and the Stamford Bridge faithful never took him under their wing either. This one was a bit of a stinker.

With John Terry and Ricardo Carvalho both injured for Chelsea, many thought the Dutchman would finally have his chance to shine. Nevertheless, Michael Essien was chosen as a makeshift centre-back instead. Ouch.

8 Tiemoue Bakayoko

Bakayoko arrived in South London with a lot of hype, he was part of a classy AS Monaco outfit that won Ligue 1 toppling mega-rich French giants Paris Saint-Germain.

Paying £40 million at the time seemed like a bit of a steal for his services too and with the ever-faithful Nemanja Matic heading to Manchester United, Bakayoko was viewed as the ideal replacement.

However, his Chelsea career soon came crashing down and after a humiliating red card against Watford in the Premier League things were never quite the same.

Subsequently, Bakayoko was loaned out to AC Milan and Monaco, then to Napoli and then back to Milan with Chelsea playing days in tatters.

7 Asier Del Horno

The strong, tough-tackling man from Athletic Bilbao seemed like the perfect man to come into Chelsea's defence to provide competition for places.

However, one season in the English top flight was too much for Del Horno to take and he was shipped back to Spain for about half of what the Blues paid for him, £4.8 million.

Usually with a player like Del Horno, you want to be making some form of gains on your investment when it comes to selling them and this is pretty much why he's ended up on our list.

He returned to Spain with a Premier League winners medal from his only season in England and a red card he received for crunching a 17-year-old Lionel Messi in the UEFA Champions League.

6 Danny Drinkwater

Danny Drinkwater making the switch to Chelsea shocked English football, with pundits and fans alike bemused by the transfer signing.

Drinkwater has indeed been part of the iconic Leicester City title-winning team, however, he wasn't the man to come into Chelsea's midfield and challenge for trophies on the regular.

The midfielder was average at best and his 23 appearances for Chelsea all but confirmed his one-season wonder status, albeit a pretty good one.

The £35 million fee went to complete waste here and the ace's career since has gone on to prove this transfer dealing to be even worse than first feared.

5 Adrian Mutu

Mutu arrived with a bang at Stamford Bridge from Parma, hitting the back of the net three times in his first four games for Chelsea and looked set to be a Premier League star.

The Romanian then hit a dry streak like no other, only scoring six times in the rest of his time at Stamford Bridge alongside a seven-month ban for cocaine use.

In 2009 Mutu was ordered to pay Chelsea damages after the club launched a legal battle against the striker which ended up in the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

The word messy springs to mind in this one and the early promise of Mutu is the only glimmer fans of Chelsea can hold on to in this one.

4 Andriy Shevchenko

When Roman Abramovich finally landed his number one target after years of trying to lure him away from AC Milan, he bought a player who had already hit his peak.

Paying £30.8 million for a forward of Shevchenko's quality and resume is a bit of a steal in today's world. However, his time at Chelsea was dull and as lacklustre as they come.

Racking up 23 goals in 77 games isn't a completely terrible return - but with what was expected from the Ukrainian, much more was hoped for at Stamford Bridge.

Shevchenko eventually lost his place in the team to Didier Drogba, who was younger, faster and more adaptable to the tough and physical Premier League.

3 Fernando Torres

Chelsea dished out a British record fee of £50 million to prize Torres away from Liverpool and many expected the Spaniard to reach even bigger heights.

However, his slow start to life in London made fans and his manager uneasy, and the striker didn't manage to score in his first 1000 minutes for the Blues.

El Nino's 45 goals and 35 assists in 175 appearances are by no means a bad total, he simply just didn't live up to the hype he brought with him from Merseyside.

Torres and Chelsea just never seemed right, something always seemed off between the pair and the connection he had with fans at Liverpool never translated with the Blues.

2 Juan Sebastian Veron

Veron was a classy player, although, he failed to fit into things at Old Trafford with Sir Alex Ferguson and was subsequently bought by Chelsea for £15 million.

Many believed the Argentine maestro could kick on with things in England with a new lease of life in London, but they were very wrong.

Having played 14 games in the Premier League, scoring once and grabbing two assists along the way simply weren't good enough numbers for a team that was trying to transform its image.

A loan spell at Inter Milan followed and then he was sold to Estudiantes for a minuscule £2 million in 2006. What a waste of money that is.

1 Alvaro Morata

Alvaro Morata failed to challenge Karim Benzema's throne at Real Madrid, but he showed glimpses of brilliance that forced Chelsea's hand into a £58 million deal.

And life at the Bridge started well for Alvaro, scoring a goal and grabbing an assist in his Premier League debut against Burnley. However, his second year was extremely bleak and full of gaffs and misses.

Just five Premier League goals in 2018/19 weren't the kind of numbers expected from a £58 million striker and his price tag alone was enough for us to put him top of our list.

In the harsh world of professional football, if you command such a fee, you better live up to the expectations and the Spaniard simply crumbled after his first season in England.