Salah, De Bruyne, Hazard: Chelsea's XI of sold players is incredible | OneFootball

Chelsea’s summer transfer business is starting to pick up.

After losing Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger for free, on top of Romelu Lukaku’s temporary departure to Inter Milan, the Blues have finally got some impressive deals over the line.

Raheem Sterling’s switch from Manchester City has been made official by the west London club, while Kalidou Koulibaly’s transfer recently received given the sought-after “here we go!” treatment by Fabrizio Romano.

Those two new additions will certainly strengthen Chelsea going into the 2022/23 season.

But while Chelsea’s latest incomings look very good on paper, the club’s outgoings in recent years have been just as eye-catching.

From Kevin De Bruyne to Mohamed Salah, some of the very best players on the planet right now previously plied their trade at Stamford Bridge.

Check out the incredible XI made up of active footballers who were let go by Chelsea…

Chelsea’s XI of sold players

The XI: Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid), Tariq Lamptey (Brighton & Hove Albion), Andreas Christensen (Barcelona), Fikayo Tomori (AC Milan), Marc Guehi (Crystal Palace), Thorgan Hazard (Borussia Dortmund), Declan Rice (West Ham United), Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City), Mohamed Salah (Liverpool), Tammy Abraham (AS Roma), Eden Hazard (Real Madrid)

Unlucky to miss out: Kurt Zouma (West Ham United), Nathan Ake (Manchester City), Nemanja Matic (AS Roma), Alvaro Morata (Atletico Madrid), Juan Cuadrado (Juventus), Patrick Bamford (Leeds United), Juan Mata (Free agent)

What. A. Team.

Hazard, a winger by trade like his brother Eden, has played left-wing back on numerous occasions for both Dortmund and the Belgium national team, so selecting him for the role in the XI was a no-brainer.

The rest of the defence is top notch, with Tomori now recognised as one of Serie A’s best centre-backs and Guehi a full England international following an impressive 2021/22 season at Palace.

A midfield duo of De Bruyne and Rice is mouthwatering on paper, as is a front three comprising of Salah, Abraham and Hazard – a man who is firmly in the mix to be labelled Chelsea’s greatest ever player.

Hazard has endured a tough few years at club level since leaving west London in the summer of 2019, though.

In his three years at Real Madrid, the brilliant Belgian has made only 66 appearances across all competitions, scoring just six goals.