'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Chelsea have recruited some of the best talents in world football, especially since Roman Abramovich took over the club's reign from Ken Bates in 2003. Chelsea have been one of the biggest spenders in Premier League football over the last decade, with a transfer expenditure of €1,465million - second only to Manchester City's €1,521.91million.
Abramovich-led Chelsea have signed many world-class players like Drogba and Lampard among many others. The lavish spending has certainly borne fruit as Chelsea have been the most dominant sides in English football since 2003 - winning five Premier League titles, two Europa Leagues, and the prestigious Champions League, among others.
However, they have not always been the smartest in their transfer market operations, making some underwhelming signings along the way. Today, let's take a look at:
Trending
5 Chelsea transfers that came out of nowhere
#5 Alexandre Pato
Alex Pato was tipped to be the next big thing in Brazilian football, drawing comparisons to Brazilian legend, Kaka. While this would have been a stellar signing in the prime of Pato's career, Chelsea recruited the forward when he found a starting spot in Corinthians hard to come by.
Pato's English adventure on a 6-month loan deal was a rather strange one. The Brazilian never really impressed Chelsea boss Guus Hiddink and made just two appearances for the club. While he became the sixth Brazilian to score on his Premier League debut, converting from the spot against Aston Villa, he was only a shadow of the player he once promised to be.
Pato fell down the pecking order with the likes of Willian, Loic Remy, and Bertrand Traore ahead of him. Chelsea had the option to extend Pato's stay at the club, but decided to part ways with the Brazilian. Although Pato's transfer didn't hurt Chelsea in terms of transfer fees, his £30,000-a-week wages was arguably wasted money.
#4 Jiri Jarošík
One would argue Jarosik was more of an Abramovich signing than a Mourinho one, and was among a host of players who made the move to Stamford Bridge from CSKA Moscow.
This £3 million signing made little to no sense, as Jarosik had immense competition at his position from modern Chelsea greats such as Lampard, Makelele, and Essien. The 27-year old Czech was a pretty decent footballer, but was like a fish out of water in the Premier League. Jarosik managed only 14 appearances for Chelsea before being loaned out to Birmingham.
After a rather forgettable year at the club, the Czech midfielder departed Chelsea and would hang up his boots in 2015 after a good spell in Deportivo Alaves.
#3 Alexey Smertin
Next up, we have former Russian captain, Alexei Smertin - another signing which was more influenced by Abramovich than the Chelsea manager.
The club from London shelled out £3.5 million to acquire his services from CSKA Moscow, but then-Chelsea manager Claudio Ranieri loaned out the Russian just a few months later. The midfielder played a bit-part role in Chelsea's 2004/05 PL-winning season under Mourinho, but featured in just 16 games for the West Londoners. He managed to get on the scoresheet once - in a Champions League encounter against Porto.
Smertin wasn't entirely to blame for his underwhelming three-seasons in England. Chelsea signed the midfielder at a time when they had the likes of Lampard, Makelele and Scott Parker operating in his preferred position, and it was no surprise that Smertin failed to make a breakthrough. The Russian departed Stamford Bridge in 2006, and retired from the game a year later.
#2 Juan Sebastian Veron
After a disappointing spell at Old Trafford, Chelsea made the bold move of signing the Argentine in a £14 million deal. Despite several shreds of evidence surrounding Veron's inadequacy of coping up with the physicality of Premier League football, Chelsea took a gamble on the midfielder.
Mourinho favors a strong player in the center of midfield, and Veron failed to impress the Portuguese - hindered by several injuries. He spent most of his four years as a Chelsea player on loan - first at Inter Milan for a two-year spell followed by a year at Argentine club Estudiantes. The Argentine's limited time at Stamford Bridge yielded 14 appearances - 6 from the bench.
Veron enjoyed a dream start to his Chelsea career, scoring the opener in the Blues' 2-1 victory over Liverpool. He managed just a solitary goal and an assist in his brief time since. However, in the words of Sir Alex, "[Verón] is a f*****g great player. And you're all f*****g idiots."
#1 Papy Djilobodji
Taking pole position is the Senegalese, who had a short-lived career of 59 seconds at Chelsea. After failing to land their main defensive targets - John Stones and Raphael Varane, the Blues made a £4million panic buy.
Jose Mourinho admitted he had never heard of the former Nantes defender, and didn't end up being a fan of his footballing acumen either. A 59-second substitute appearance in added time of a FA Cup tie against Walsall was the most we saw of Papy in a Chelsea shirt. The Senegalese was soon sent out on loan to German outfit Werder Bremer, where he made 14 appearances and scored two goals in the one year at Germany.
While panic buys are pretty standard in the world of top football clubs with big pockets and often turn out unremarkable, this transfer takes the cake. There was no need for Chelsea to make this signing, and after having signed the defender, the treatment meted out to him was probably a bit harsh.
