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Chelsea’s derby against Tottenham will mark the 1000th game of the Roman Abramovich era.
It is impossible to overstate the seismic impact the billionaire has had on English football since June 2003.
The Russian has invested over £ 2 billion in the club, helping the Blues win 16 trophies and transforming the transfer market in the process.
However, that does not mean that all that business has been a success.
There have been some crafty transfers, see Michael Essien and Eden Hazard, but there have also been some failures, not to mention some transfers that were downright bizarre.
So as the Chelsea owner marks a special milestone after more than 17 years at the helm, we here at GIVEMESPORT have been reminiscing about the most random Chelsea purchases of the Abramovich era and what happened next.
Asier Del Horno
Mainly remembered for being terrified of Lionel Messi in the Champions League, Del Horno’s £ 8 million transfer did not turn out to be a success. After a fair season and 25 appearances, he was sold to Valencia.
Papy Djilobodji
Chelsea signed the defender for a fee that amounted to £ 4 million in 2015. The next day, he was not named to their Champions League squad and his only appearance was as a substitute in the League Cup.
Such ben haim
Ben Haim was a solid center-back (sort of) for Bolton Wanderers, but no one expected him to move to West London. Obviously, the Israeli was signed as a substitute, but injuries to John Terry and Ricardo Carvalho pushed him to the first team.
However, like many Chelsea fans, he was not overly delighted with the decision to replace José Mourinho with Avram Grant. “If he had known that Avram Grant was going to be the manager, he would have signed for another club,” he said before being fined two weeks’ salary and eventually being sent to Manchester City.
Ricardo Quaresma
Who forgot this happened? The Portuguese international came on loan from Inter Milan in 2009, but only played five games. Quaresma then returned to San Siro before joining Besiktas.
Gonzalo Higuain
The Argentine could have been a superb signing on loan from Juventus, but he scored just five goals, two of them against Huddersfield. Chelsea chose not to extend the deal and subsequently followed Maurizio Sarri back to Turin.
Loic remy
Signed from QPR for £ 10.5 million, Remy actually got off to a decent start, but only scored eight league goals. A loan to Crystal Palace followed, before it was finally sold to Las Palmas after three years and only 32 appearances.
Slobodan rajkovic
Chelsea first signed the Serbian in 2005 for € 2 million when he was just 16 years old, but he stayed on loan to OFK Beograd. He was then loaned out three more times before Andre Villas-Boas requested that he return to Stamford Bridge. Interestingly, four years after putting pen to paper on his initial deal, he still hadn’t obtained a visa or work permit, so he could only play games that were not open to the public. He never made a competitive appearance.
Juan Sebastian Verón
Veron was undoubtedly talented, but Chelsea should have known he’d be in trouble in England after his stint at Manchester United, who had let him go for £ 15m. He did not fare better in the capital, he made only 14 appearances and then went on loan to Inter Milan and ultimately Student.
Alexandre Pato
There was a time when this would have been a great signing. Yet despite scoring a penalty on his debut, the former wonder boy will be one of Abramovich’s biggest failures. The Brazilian made only two appearances and then returned to Corinthians.
Khalid Boulahrouz
There’s good reason why Chelsea’s number nine jersey was long considered cursed, Boulahrouz was one of the best examples after signing for Hamburg in 2006 for 8.5 million pounds. He was actually a defender and made 13 appearances before signing for Sevilla.
Sleeves
Mourinho knew Maniche from their time together at Porto, but that was the only real justification for signing him on loan from Dynamo Moscow in 2006. It was pretty clear things wouldn’t work out when he was sent off 17 minutes after his debut, but Got a Premier League champion medal! He joined Atlético de Madrid shortly after.
Fabio Paim
“If you think I’m okay, wait until you see Fabio Paim,” Cristiano Ronaldo was quoted as saying when he signed for Manchester United. So it is perhaps easy to see why Luiz Felipe Scolari signed the Portuguese winger. Unfortunately, Paim only lasted four months and only played for the reserves before returning to his homeland with Rio Ave.
Steve Sidwell
A reminder that just because things can be done doesn’t mean they should be done. Sidwell was a decent cog in Reading’s midfield, but couldn’t make the move at Chelsea, making 25 appearances in all competitions before joining Aston Villa.
Abramovich’s abundant resources are such that we’re sure you won’t lose too much sleep over the fate of some of your less successful purchases.
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