Chelsea have been the Premier League’s highest spenders over the last few seasons, with Todd Boehly having adopted a scatter-gun approach to player recruitment at Stamford Bridge. However, their expensive habits actually stretch back over the last two decades, given that Roman Abramovich also spent heavily in the transfer market during his ownership of the Blues.
The west Londoners have managed to land the majority of their high-profile targets over the years, with the likes of Didier Drogba, Eden Hazard, N’Golo Kante and Michael Essien among their best signings in recent memory. It is no secret that several big-name players have slipped through the net, though, after choosing to stay put or go elsewhere rather than join Chelsea.
Express Sport takes a look at 11 players who came close to making the switch but stopped short of putting pen to paper at Stamford Bridge…
Legendary Brazilian full-back Roberto Carlos was close to joining the Blues in the summer of 2007 after a private meeting with Abramovich in Paris. However, the move ultimately broke down before Chelsea went on to sign Florent Malouda instead.
A decade later, Carlos revealed: “I spoke to Roman Abramovich about it. We had a meeting in Paris, but it didn’t happen due to a few small factors.”
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Liverpool and England hero Steven Gerrard infamously handed in a transfer request after emerging as a target for Chelsea in the summer of 2005. Jose Mourinho was a known admirer of the midfielder, but his impasse with Liverpool would eventually come to an end when he decided to sign a new deal at Anfield.
Chelsea went on to complete the signing of Essien in place of Gerrard, who remained at Liverpool for another 11 years before leaving in 2016.
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Chelsea signed just one central midfielder in the summer of 2009 but things could have been different if they had succeeded in their efforts to land Andrea Pirlo. The former Italy maestro was a target for Carlo Ancelotti but the Blues failed to tempt AC Milan into selling as Pirlo later recalled: “Ancelotti and I spoke a fair bit on the phone.
“He wanted to bring me to London at all costs, and cost was indeed the last hurdle still to be overcome. Insurmountable, as it transpired.”
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