Top 10 Best Chelsea Players Of All Time

 

Video: Top 50 Chelsea goals of all time 

1. John Terry

The term "captain, leader, legend" is thrown around too often in the modern era. However, the player it's most easily applied to is Chelsea legend John Terry. He is the best centre back in Premier League history and without a doubt, the best player in Chelsea history.

John Terry personifies everything Chelsea is about. A player who dedicated most of his career to Chelsea. He ultimately retired at Aston Villa after one season but without a shadow of a doubt, he is mostly recognised for his incredible career with Chelsea.

Video: Top 50 Chelsea goals of all time 

2. Frank Lampard

It is impossible and almost blasphemous to pit Frank Lampard against John Terry. This is because the two achieved most of their success together, with Lampard providing excellent attacking momentum to the Chelsea midfield and John Terry acting as the anchor in defence. That, alongside the fact that they remain good friends and two of the biggest club legends in history.

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3. Gianfranco Zola

Widely regarded by many as the great forward to ever play for Chelsea, Gianfranco Zola earned his way into the top three by a country mile. Despite never being the most prolific goal-scorer, the impact he had on the Chelsea attack is impossible to ignore. Without a doubt, he is the most creative and technically gifted attacker Chelsea has ever seen.

Video: 10 best Lampard goals for chelsea 

4. Didier Drogba

Didier Drogba is one of those players who brings a wave of nostalgia with him. The brute striker had a keen eye for scoring goals, especially against London rivals Arsenal. This was always bound to win him his praise among Chelsea supporters and is likely a key reason why he is a popular former player among the fanbase.

Didier Drogba actually played for Chelsea on two separate occasions, meaning he left behind two great legacies. After spending his best days at the club and breaking the 100-goal mark in the Premier League, he returned several years later to win the Premier League and League Cup double.

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5. Peter Osgood

It takes a pretty remarkable player to be cast into a statue outside of Stamford Bridge, but nobody deserves it more than the King of Stamford Bridge, Peter Osgood. The Chelsea legend of the 1960s and 70s started and ended his career at Chelsea, with spells at other clubs in between.

He broke through the Chelsea academy, proving himself as one of the best young players to break through at Stamford Bridge. Osgood remains one of the best strikers to ever play for Chelsea and he is an example who should be followed to this day.

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6. Petr Cech

The first goalkeeper to make this list, it's obviously none other than Petr Cech. The Czech international overcame many obstacles in his career and despite playing for two Premier League clubs (we shan't mention the second), Cech established himself as one of the best goalkeepers in Premier League history whilst at Chelsea.

Cech was one of Chelsea's smartest transfers in history, as he was picked up from Rennes as a youngster in 2004. Cech then spent over a decade developing his way into the Chelsea first team, until he was a non-negotiable starter. He stayed with Chelsea until 2015, so put in an incredible tenure.

Winning four league titles with Chelsea has to count for something, as Cech was one of the unsung heroes during the club's most successful periods. He was also a key figure in the 2012 Champions League win.

As eluded to, Cech experienced a setback towards the beginning of his career with Chelsea and while it took some time to return to his best, Cech eventually got there after a fractured skull which could have hindered his career. His most memorable moment in a Chelsea shirt was saving a penalty against Arjen Robben in the 2012 Champions League final, keeping the dream alive in extra time.

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7. Ron Harris

Being the all-time Chelsea appearance record holder has to stand for something but for Ron Harris, this is only partly the reason he makes this list. He played for Chelsea during a transitional period and in many ways, could be attributed to the incredible uprising of the club.

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8. Eden Hazard

The sad downfall of Eden Hazard after he left Chelsea is well-documented. However, this is only a testament to the player he was at Chelsea. In fact, there was a point in time where he was in the debate of the best player in the world. If he wasn't playing during the same era as Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, he probably would have been.

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9. Dennis Wise

Dennis Wise played for many clubs in England but none personified his incredible career more than Chelsea. He is one of the club's biggest legends, after committing eleven years of his stellar career to Stamford Bridge.

He wasn't the most technically gifted player in the world, nor did he have "natural talent". But he certainly made up for those with incredible hard work, which made him an immensely talented player. For that, Dennis Wise deserves nothing but respect as he spent a wicked amount of time dedicated to mastering the midfield craft and that he did.

Video: Top 10 John Terry goals for chelsea 

10.Roy Bentley

Roy Bentley is one of the finest examples of "don't expect a different outcome with the same input". This is very much the way in which Bentley lived his life and ultimately made a name for himself in his football career.

In 1948, Bentley made the move to Chelsea from Newcastle United because it was believed that a move down to the South of England would aleviate the lung issues he had endured while living in the North of England, playing for Newcastle.

It took him a fair amount of time to adjust to his new life in a Chelsea jersey, but through changing the way he played his game, he changed the results for Chelsea. Ultimately, it was a tactical switch which was looked at with raised eyebrows at first, but the change benefited both the player AND Chelsea as a club.

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