5 world-class players who rejected Chelsea
Roman Abramovich's takeover of Chelsea in 2003 led to a multitude of stars making a move to Stamford Bridge, including Gianfranco Zola, Didier Drogba, Fernando Torres and Frank Lampard, to name a few.
Five world-class players who chose not to join Chelsea
Chelsea have been one of the biggest spenders in English football over the past decade, with a transfer expenditure of €1.465 billion. While the Blues are known to be one of the smartest operators in the transfer market, things haven't always gone according to script.
On that note, let's take a look at five world-class players who refused moves to Chelsea over the years.
#1 Alisson Becker
Chelsea had an unsuccessful pursuit of Brazilian international Alisson Becker in 2018.
The 28-year old had a stellar campaign with AS Roma in 2017-18, winning the Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year accolade and the 2018 Copa America title with his national team. With 32 clean sheets to his name that season, Alisson attracted interest from some of Europe's top teams, including Chelsea.
His signing would end up being a hotly-contested transfer saga in the summer transfer window of 2018, as Liverpool and Chelsea expressed a strong interest in the Brazilian. Alisson eventually made the move to Anfield for a fee of €62.5 million, making him the world's most expensive goalkeeper.
Alisson cited the following reason for rejecting Chelsea:
“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."
Alisson wasn't the world's most expensive goalkeeper for too long, though, as Chelsea signed Kepa Arrizabalaga for a whopping €80 million in the same transfer window.
The Champions League and Premier League winner later revealed in an interview why he chose to join the Reds:
"This (Liverpool) is a club with five European Cups in their trophy cabinet. I really wanted to be part of that history."
#2 Romelu Lukaku
Social media was rife with rumours of Romelu Lukaku's impending return to Stamford Bridge in the summer of 2017. The former Chelsea-reject had four immensely successful seasons at Everton, registering 116 goal involvements (87 goals, 29 assists) in 166 appearances.
In the season-opening transfer window of 2017, Lukaku looked set to leave Goodison Park in search of a new challenge. Manchester United were looking for strikers in that transfer window, and Alvaro Morata's name was heavily linked with the Red Devils.
But as fate would have it, Lukaku moved to Old Trafford, while Chelsea had to settle for Alvaro Morata. The Inter Milan goal-machine later explained in a podcast his decision to reject the Blues, saying:
"I was gone; I was going to Chelsea. I was looking for an apartment, an apartment for my mum to stay in close to the practice facility, so I don't have to drive too far. And then Man U came."
The Belgian international recalled a conversation with former United boss Jose Mourinho, where the Portuguese reportedly said:
"I'm gonna get you back; we're gonna pay £75m plus £15m in bonuses (add-ons) by next week, so I expect you in LA. So go and do your s**t in LA, and I'll see you after pre-season."