In August, Chelsea brought in Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku from Inter Milan for the highest transfer fee ever made by the team. And last summer, they brought in strong players like Havertz, Werner and Chilwell, which cost a total of £230 million.
Since Abramovich bought Chelsea in 2003, Chelsea have brought in a number of star players, but at the same time, many of the best players have left the club. The fact that players perform well after leaving after a transfer often raises controversy about whether it is too early for clubs to abandon them.
Here's a luxurious line-up of "Chelsea predecessors" listed by the British "Daily Star".
丨 Courtois
In Chelsea's most recent Premier League triumph in the 2016-17 season, Courtois was the patron saint of the team. In 2011, he moved from Genk in Belgium to Chelsea. He spent his first three years at Atletico Madrid, serving as Chelsea's patron saint for four years, starting in 2014, helping the team win four trophies, including two Premier League trophies.
After winning the Golden Glove award at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, he chose to join Real Madrid in order to live with his family in Spain. The 29-year-old is still the Belgian national team's unassailable Number 1 goalkeeper.
丨 Tomori
Tomori has been playing in the Chelsea academy since he was 8 years old. In the 2018-19 season he was loaned to Derby County, then coached by Chelsea star Frank Lampard. In the summer of 2019, he returned to Chelsea and became the team's main player in the first half of the season. He also made his debut for the England national team in November of the same year, signing a five-year contract with the club in December. While all this looked like it was going well, his chances of playing diminished after that. This summer, he officially moved to AC Milan, which he had been playing for in January, where he managed to secure his place. At the Time of England and Andorra on 9 October, the 23-year-old Tomori made his second appearance for the national team. In the not-too-distant future, Chelsea may regret giving up the promising defender.
丨Zuma
Zuma joined Chelsea from Saint-Etienne in 2014. He was an absolute mainstay of the team in the 2015-16 season, but an injury that caused him to tear his front cruciate ligament in his right knee midway through the season kept him away from the game for a while, and it took about nine months before he was able to return to the game. In the 2017-18 season at Stoke City and the following year on loan at Everton, he won the trust of these clubs with his performances. Although Everton wanted to buy out Zuma, Chelsea at the time had a transfer ban, so Zuma's deal did not work out. Back in London, Zuma became a major player under Lampard, then Chelsea manager. But things changed after Tuchel took office in January, with Zuma, who was sitting on the cold bench, moving to West Ham to increase his chances of playing.
丨Ack
The Dutch defender joined Chelsea's youth squad at the age of 16. Although he has only a record of 17 appearances for chelsea first team, he has gained a lot of experience after going on loan to Watford and Bournemouth. He made his debut for the Dutch national team in 2017 and made a full move to Bournemouth, before moving to Manchester City last summer for £40m. Due to the impact of injuries, he is not very favorable for him to compete for the main position in the team, but the 26-year-old is still promising.
丨Phillipe Luis
Brazilian left-back Felipe Luiz left after just one year at Chelsea. He moved from Atletico Madrid to Chelsea shortly after the 2013-14 Champions League final, and under then-manager Jose Mourinho he immediately tasted the Premier League title, but with only nine starts in the league he did not spend three years at Chelsea on his contract, returning to Atletico Madrid in July 2015. After returning to Atletico he quickly found his place and once again stepped onto the stage of the Champions League final with the team. The 36-year-old currently plays for flamenco in his native Brazil.
丨 De Bruyne
Letting De Bruyne go should be one of Chelsea's biggest losses. He was the league's MVP in 2019-20, and as of last season he was named PFA Premier League Player of the Year for two consecutive years, and he was nominated for this year's Ballon d'Or. De Bruyne, who joined Chelsea in 2012, has only made nine appearances before moving to Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga in 2014 and has been a member of Manchester City since the summer of 2015. De Bruyne has said he has only spoken to Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho twice, which has attracted attention. Perhaps it is because Guardiola gave enough trust that de Bruyne is now.
丨 Romeu
Born in La Masia, Barca, Romeu made two appearances in the Barca first team in the 2010–11 season under then Barca manager Pep Guardiola. Although he was a Chelsea player for four years from 2011, he was loaned out for the last two years, playing only 33 games at Chelsea.
Romeu has been Southampton's main player since 2015. When he renewed his contract with Southampton last November, head coach Hasen hüttle said he had never seen a player so professional in his coaching career, and that he was a fantastic model player, both on the training ground and on the field.
丨 Salah
Like De Bruyne, Salah was one of the "monsters" that Chelsea let go. He moved to Chelsea from Basel, Switzerland, in January 2014, but his performances in London were not appreciated. After leaving Chelsea on loan to Fiorentina and Roma in Serie A, his talent began to be released, and in the summer of 2016 he officially moved to Rome, where he was bought by Liverpool the following year.
From the 2017-18 season, salah's first season with Liverpool, he became the Premier League top scorer and won numerous individual awards including the Player of the Year award from the PFA (Professional Footballers Association of England) and the FWA (English Football Journalists Association). The year after the personal honours erupted, he remained one of the league's top scorers and so far he has so far topped the top scorers list. The 29-year-old Egyptian striker, who has been hailed as a top player, should continue his heyday for some time.
丨 Mata
In January 2014, United spent a record £37.1 million on club transfer fees to bring in Juan Mata from Chelsea. Mata joined Chelsea in the summer of 2011 and became the club's Player of the Year for two consecutive years. He helped Chelsea win the FA Cup and the Champions League in his first year and the League Cup the following year. At that time, after Mourinho took over as Chelsea manager, he decided to leave Chelsea for the third season with fewer starting opportunities. However, about seven years on, he has not been able to leave the same influence in Manchester United during his time at Chelsea. In his last two league games he hasn't even had a chance to sit on the bench. The Daily Star also said: "What if he stays at Chelsea? The matter was reported under the headline.
丨Roben
Robben, who announced his second retirement in July, is one of the world's few powerful attackers, but his days at Chelsea have also been battling injuries. Nevertheless, he contributed to the team in limited appearances, helping the team to win the Premier League title in 2004-05 and 2005-06. Robben moved to Real Madrid in 2007 and reached his peak after joining Bayern in 2009. During his 10 years with Bayern, he won numerous accolades including the Champions League and eight Bundesliga titles. In the future, he will also remain in the memory of fans as a legendary player of the team.
丨 Abraham
Tammy Abraham joined Chelsea's academy at the age of 7 and made his first appearance for Chelsea's first team in May 2016. In the 2018-19 season he played well in aston Villa, a team on loan, contributing greatly to the team's promotion to the Premier League and was also named the best 11 man at the time by the Championship. In his first year in charge of then Chelsea manager Frank Lampard, in the 2019-20 season, Tammy Abraham was the team's top scorer, scoring 15 goals. In the first half of the second season, he also played for the team as a regular workhorse.
But after Tuchel took office, his chances of playing have diminished, and this summer Tammy Abraham moved to Jose Mourinho's Roma, where he will work with Tomori, who has been working together in the Chelsea youth echelon for 16 years, to inspire each other in future Serie A matches.
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