Jose Mourinho is undoubtedly a Chelsea legend and the self-proclaimed Special One is loved almost universally by Blues fans. His personality may not be to the liking of everyone but nobody can argue that he doesn’t offer entertainment and, most importantly, he has delivered results… and silverware. His first spell at Stamford Bridge brought Chelsea their first league title for 50 years and was followed by another the following season whilst he also brought them success in the FA Cup and League Cup.
His sides were created with the wealth of Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich and signings such as Didier Drogba and Ricardo Carvalho were essential to the club’s success. However, let us not be fooled; nobody, not even the Special One is perfect and along with the many gems he brought in, Mourinho also spent many a Russian Rouble on dross. Here we “celebrate” Jose’s five worst Chelsea signings… can you think of any worse?
Andriy Shevchenko
We have to be fair to Mourinho and acknowledge that Sheva wasn’t a signing orchestrated by him. It is widely accepted that it was Abramovich who was the key man behind this signing but the fact remains that Mourinho was in charge (technically at least) at the time and so he has to be ranked as one of Jose’s worst transfers.
The Pensioners paid an eye-watering £31m for the AC Milan star, the owner having become convinced that the man who was a legend in Italy and his native Ukraine would help his side to Champions League glory. Shevchenko had scored more than 180 league goals in little more than 320 games for his previous sides but, as any shrewd fan was well aware, he had lost a yard of pace and was very much on the wane. Approaching 30 years of age, his best days were behind him and despite a goal on his debut Sheva was a total disaster, scoring just nine goals for the Blues before leaving on a free. £31m well spent there!
Shaun Wright-Phillips
Wright-Phillips was signed from Manchester City for the princely sum of £21m, which was a lot of money back in 2005! At this time the mere fact of a Chelsea enquiry for a player virtually doubled the asking price and £21m was undoubtedly far too much to pay. Wright-Phillips was a good player and on his day he could turn a game with his pace and shooting but sadly his days were few and far between. He was a player who had potential but never, ever really looked like fulfilling it and at times had the look of a headless chicken. He had three years at the Blues before moving back to City for around a third of what Chelsea paid for him. Now in the Championship with QPR his England record of 36 caps and six goals is misleading: he was a major Mourinho miss.
Khalid Boulahrouz
Signed from Hamburg for “just” £7m, Boulahrouz never made the grade at the Bridge and played just 13 times. Signed for his flexibility and the ability to cover a number of different positions, it soon became clear the “the Cannibal” wasn’t good enough in any of them. He was loaned to Sevilla, who took six games to realise he wasn’t for them, before moving to Stuttgart. His aggressive style should have suited the Premier League but he gave away too many fouls and lacked class, although injuries also played a part in his Chelsea demise.
Asier Del Horno
Del Horno was signed from Athletic Bilbao for £8m and played just one season at Stamford Bridge. He made just 25 league appearances for the Blues, scoring one goal, before being sold to Valencia for a small loss. Not a total disaster like some of the others… but just rather pointless!
Jiri Jarosik
Jarosik, a Czech international, was one of a number of poor midfield signings made by Mourinho and whilst he was a relative bargain at around £5m he was never more than a fringe player who lacked the ability to be a Premier League success. 23 appearances for his national side hint at why the Special One signed him but he was another who failed to fulfil his potential and 14 Premier League outings over one season before leaving for a large loss earn him a place on our list.
All players are from Jose’s first spell at the Blues as we feel it’s a little early to judge his latest signings. Time will tell if players such as Willian, Andre Schurrle and Nemanja Matic will succeed or fail but we doubt any of them will be worse Chelsea signings than our five unfortunates listed above.