5) Ashley Cole
One of the great modern-day full-backs, signing Ashley Cole from rivals Arsenal was a major statement and had the added bonus of majorly hurting one of their biggest rivals. Cole was a homegrown hero at Arsenal and became part of that Invincibles side, but instead left the Gunners to win the Champions League and other major honours for Chelsea.
4) Petr Cech
A world class goalkeeper from a young age, Petr Cech instantly transformed Chelsea when he joined in the summer of 2004, becoming number one ahead of the more experienced Carlo Cudicini. The Czech shot-stopper ended up playing nearly 500 games for the Blues, and his penalty-saving heroics were key to them winning the 2012 Champions League.
3) N’Golo Kante
A quite phenomenal player at his peak, N’Golo Kante is sure to go down as one of the best modern-day Premier League midfielders. After his success at Leicester City, he made the move to Chelsea and immediately played a starring role in their 2016/17 title success, being named Player of the Year. He’s since been a huge part of their success under Thomas Tuchel as well, with few in world football able to match his work rate and superbly intelligent defending in front of the back four.
2) Eden Hazard
A player who was really in a league of his own for a while, Eden Hazard is another inspired Abramovich signing who will go down as one of the best to ever play for the club. The Belgian maestro was instrumental to Chelsea’s title wins in 2014/15 and 2016/17, scoring some of the most aesthetically pleasing solo goals for the club in the process.
1) Didier Drogba
There could only be one in first place and that’s Didier Drogba. Some Chelsea fans will have been hungry for bigger names when the Ivorian striker joined in the summer of 2004, and in fairness he didn’t get off the most convincing start. In the end, however, Drogba proved himself to be the ultimate big game player, always tormenting rivals in cup finals and putting in a memorable display in that Champions League triumph over Bayern Munich in 2012, scoring the equaliser to force extra time and then netting the winning penalty. Drogba didn’t always have the best scoring stats, but pure numbers don’t tell the whole story with a big character and leader like this, without whom the best moments of the Abramovich era wouldn’t have been possible.
