5 players who rejected moves to Chelsea
Chelsea have been one of the most successful European clubs of the 21st century, with over 20 trophies in their cabinet since the dawn of the century. The Blues became a consistently performing club, especially after the takeover by Roman Abramovich in 2003, which ushered the club into a new era.
With increased spending capacity and sensible investments, Chelsea became the first English club to win all three of UEFA's major club competitions - the European Cup Winners Cup, Champions League and Europa League. The Blues have played host to some of the biggest players and managers over the years and are known to be a club that generally gets whom they want.
However, Chelsea have not been successful in all of their pursuits, as some world-class players have rejected moves to London over the years. On that note, we take a look at the five players who rejected moves to Stamford Bridge.
#5 Roberto Carlos
In the summer transfer window of 2007, Chelsea almost pulled off what would've been one of the Premier League's greatest-ever imports.
Following a trophy-laden 11-year spell at Real Madrid, Roberto Carlos was on the hunt for a new club. After winning 13 trophies in the Spanish capital, the then-34-year old Brazilian was a free agent. Years after that transfer window, Carlos revealed that he was 'very close' to joining Chelsea in 2007.
A decade following the incident, Roberto Carlos revealed the details in an interview with Goal. The Brazilian said:
"With Chelsea, it got very close. It was literally agreed, and I just had to go there and sign the contract. It was just a week before I signed for Fenerbahce, and I had been to Paris to meet both Roman Abramovich and (former chief executive) Peter Kenyon, but it didn't happen due to a few small factors."
The 2002 FIFA World Cup winner would go on to sign for the 28-time Turkish champions, Fenerbahce, in that same transfer window.
#4 Alisson
Before Chelsea splurged a world-record €80 million on Kepa Arrizabalaga, they were heavily linked with then-AS Roma shot-stopper Alisson Becker.
The 28-year-old was coming off a stellar 2017-18 season with both club and country. Alisson won the Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year accolade that season and the 2018 Copa America title with Brazil. With a cumulative tally of 22 clean sheets for club and country that season, Alisson was one of the hottest properties in the 2018 summer transfer window.
Chelsea were one of the clubs interested in the Brazilian's signature, and it soon turned into a hotly-contested transfer saga when arch-rivals Liverpool entered the fray. Eventually, Alisson made the move to Anfield on a €62.5 million transfer, making him the world's most expensive goalkeeper at the time.
In a later interview, Alisson cited the following reason for rejecting the Blues:
"I chose Liverpool for the same reasons I went to Roma when I first left Brazil – I thought this would be the best move for my career. Chelsea were changing their manager and not playing in the Champions League."
He added:
"This (Liverpool) is a club with five European Cups in their trophy cabinet. I really wanted to be part of that history."