More money than sense! The worst bits of business from the Stamford Bridge owner.
Having looked at the ten best purchases made during the Russian billionaire’s decade in charge of the West London side, we thought it only fair to outline the transfer shockers as well.
Roman Abramovich has been Chelsea owner for ten years now and although many top players have joined the Blues over the last ten years, many players have also struggled in the spotlight at Stamford Bridge, with Abramovich paying millions for players who were either past their best or just not good enough. Here are the top ten worst signings of the Roman Abramovich era at Chelsea.
10- Scott Parker (22, Charlton Athletic, £10 million)
Parker was one of 14 players that Roman Abramovich signed during his first year as Chelsea owner. While at Charlton Athletic, Parker was one of the most highly rated young players in the Premier League and moved to Stamford Bridge with high hopes that playing for a top club would propel him to the next level. However, his stay at Chelsea didn’t go quite to plan and he struggled to break into the Blues first team. When he did get opportunities to play in the first team, he was often played out of position and never really got a chance to shine at the Stamford Bridge. Parker was sold to Newcastle United in July 2005 for £6.5 million and showed just how good he was during his time on Tyneside and at his next clubs West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur.
9- Marko Marin (23, Werder Bremen, £7 million)
Marin was brought in to give Chelsea width last summer and was one of German footballs star young players, processing pace and skill that could frightened full-backs. Roberto Di Matteo hoped that Marin would be the next Arjen Robben, with the club missing a player of Robben’s calibre on the wing since the Dutchman left in 2007. However, Marin was kept out of the Chelsea team due to a series of injuries and only made his first start for the Blues in January. When he did get a game for Chelsea, his performances were underwhelming and with the signing of Andre Schurrle, Marin has fallen even further down the pecking order at Chelsea. He has since left Chelsea to join Sevilla on loan and even when he returns from his loan spell in Spain, he is unlikely to get much opportunity at Stamford Bridge, meaning his stay at Chelsea is likely to be short and unsuccessful.
8- Khalid Boulahrouz (23, Hamburg, £9 million)
When Chelsea signed Boulahrouz in 2006, they hoped they were signing quality central defensive cover for the likes of Ricardo Carvalho and John Terry. Boulahrouz was a highly rated young centre back and it was hoped that he could develop at Chelsea and give competition to Chelsea’s first choice central defensive pairing. However this did not happen and despite the Dutchman being given the no 9 shirt at the Blues, Boulahrouz only made 13 appearances for Chelsea and was sent off on loan to Sevilla after only one season at Stamford Bridge. On his return he was sold to Vfb Stuttgart for half the price that Chelsea signed him for.
7- Shaun Wright-Phillips (23, Manchester City, £24 million)
Wright-Philips was on fine form for Manchester City when he signed for Chelsea in 2005, just after the clubs first Premier League triumph. The winger was signed to give competition to the likes of Arjen Robben but Wright-Philips often found himself starting games on the bench, ruining the fantastic rhythm that he had generated at Manchester City. At £23 million, Wright-Philips certainly wasn’t cheap for a bench warmer and his lack of starts meant that when he did make an appearance for Chelsea, he was often erratic despite the odd spectacular goal. In his first season at Chelsea he only started fifteen games for the club and he only lasted two more years at Chelsea before he was shown to the exit door, being sold back to Manchester City for just £8.5 million.
6- Adrian Mutu (24, Parma, £15.8 million)
Mutu was another one of Abramovich’s early signings but unlike the likes of Damien Duff, Mutu didn’t have a very happy time at Stamford Bridge. He did start his career at Chelsea well, scoring four goals in his first three matches but his performances got worse after his bright start. By September 2004, he had played his last game for Chelsea after he was found guilty for taking cocaine and was released by the club, his potential never to be fulfilled at the Blues. He moved to Juventus after he was released by Chelsea but soon moved away from the Italian club after they were relegated for Serie A on corruption charges. He then signed for Fiorentina where he had a much more successful time and began to rebuild his career.
5- Juan Sebastian Veron (28, Manchester United, £15 million)
Veron had come to England as one of the most highly rated central midfielders in the world but had been a disappointment during his time with Manchester United. That didn’t stop Chelsea paying £15 million for the Argentine midfielder, with Claudio Raneri hoping that he could get Veron back to his best. That never happened and Veron continued to struggled in English football, never reaching the form that he had showed during his time in Italian football. Although Veron was poor in the Premier League, he did play better during Champions League games but that wasn’t enough to keep him at the club and when Jose Mourinho arrived at Chelsea, Veron was sent out on loan to Inter Milan. After his spell at Inter Milan he moved back to Argentina, playing for Estudiantes.
4- Yossi Benayoun (30, Liverpool, £5.5 million)
Benayoun signed for Chelsea in 2010 and it was hoped that the player would be able to use his skill and intelligence to unlock defences. He had already had highly successful spells at Liverpool and West Ham and despite his age, many thought he could still be a good signing for the Blues. Benayoun’s time at Chelsea was definitely not a success as he struggled to break into the Chelsea team and battled with injury. He only made 14 appearances for the club and went out on loan to Arsenal in 2011. He struggled for game time at Arsenal as well and then went out on loan to West Ham the following season. He has since been released by Chelsea.
3- Matija Kezman (25, PSV Eindhoven, £5.3 million)
Kezman was regarded as one of the finest attacking talents in Europe when Chelsea paid £5.5 million for him in 2004. He was seen as the man who was going to spearhead Chelsea’s bid for their first Premier League title and many thought he would have a big role to play in Jose Mourinho’s new look Chelsea side. Kezman had been prolific for PSV in Holland and many thought he would be prolific in England to, much like Ruud Van Nistlerooy was for Manchester United when he moved to the Red Devils from PSV. That didn’t happen and Kezman only scored 7 goals in 40 games for Chelsea and he was considered one of the biggest flops in the history of the Premier League. Amazingly, Chelsea were able to sell him for exactly the same amount that they bought him for, meaning they didn’t lose any money! When looking at the signing of Kezman it is best to look for positives. Kezman signed for Atletico Madrid and continued to mis-fire, scoring only 8 goals as he was sold again to Turkish club Fenerbache.
2- Andriy Shevchenko (29, AC Milan, £30 million)
Chelsea thought they were signing one of the most feared strikers in Europe, who had been prolific for AC Milan for many seasons, scoring a countless amount of wonderful goals. Rumours suggested that Mourinho wasn’t actually interested in Shevchenko but the striker was forced upon him by Abramovich. Mourinho had actually wanted to sign Samuel Eto but had to instead welcome Shevchenko to Stamford Bridge. However, many expected the striker to flourish in the Premier League but it just didn’t happen for Shevchenko. The Ukrainian tried his hardest, running himself into the ground to get goal scoring opportunities but it was obvious that he was well past his best by this point in his career and wasn’t up to the fast paced nature of the Premier League. The strikers lack of goals could have directly led to Chelsea’s failure to retain their Premier League trophy, losing it to a rejuvenated Manchester United. He only scored 14 goals in his first season for Chelsea and was in and out of the clubs starting line-up for the rest of his time at Stamford Bridge. He went on loan to former club AC Milan for a season before moving back to Dynamo Kiev.
1- Fernando Torres (26, Liverpool £50 million)
Chelsea don’t seem to have had much luck with star strikers and Torres time at Chelsea has been largely disappointing. There have been one or two highs such as his goal in the Champions League semi-final second leg against Barcelona that confirmed Chelsea’s place in the final last year. He will have also made the club better off financially in terms of shirt sales when he first arrived. However, he has been a disappointment. He was once one of the Premier League most lethal goal scorers and Abramovich was desperate to bring him to Stamford Bridge despite current manager Carlo Ancelotti having a settled team. Chelsea paid Liverpool £50 million for Torres, a British record and many thought that the Spaniard would score goals galore at Stamford Bridge. That never happened, with the striker seemingly weighed down by his enormous price tag and suffering from injuries. Many suggested that Torres wasn’t quite the player that he used to be even before he left Liverpool and the Spaniard looks certain to leave Chelsea this summer, with Jose Mourinho turning to other options up front.