20 Forgotten Players Who Once Played for Chelsea

The revolving door at Chelsea hasn’t just seen world-class talent pass through; it’s seen some of the most “wait, he played for us?” cameos in football history.

Chelsea’s strategy for the better part of two decades has been to buy high, loan often, and eventually sell to a mid-table Italian side for a loss.

It’s a brutal cycle that leaves fans scratching their heads when these names pop up on a random Saturday afternoon broadcast.

Here are 20 more players who briefly called Stamford Bridge home before vanishing into the ether.

20. Marko Marin (2012–2016)

They called him the “German Messi.” That should have been the first warning sign. When Chelsea plucked Marin from Werder Bremen for £7 million in 2012, he was supposed to be the creative spark that bridged the gap between the old guard and the new, flair-heavy era of Eden Hazard and Oscar.

Instead, Marin became the definitive “pre-season worldie” player. He’d look like a superstar in a friendly against a Malaysian XI and then disappear the moment the Premier League whistle blew. Injuries didn’t help, but he simply lacked the physical presence to survive an afternoon at Burnley.

He managed just six league appearances. Then came the loans—Sevilla, Fiorentina, Anderlecht, Trabzonspor. By the time he finally left for Olympiacos in 2016, most fans had to Google whether he was still technically a Chelsea employee. He was the ultimate victim of his own nickname.

19. Alexandre Pato (2016)

This was a classic “panic buy” that felt more like a celebrity sighting than a football transfer. In January 2016, Chelsea were mid-table and desperate. They brought in Pato, once the golden boy of AC Milan, on a six-month loan from Corinthians.

He spent the first two months of his stay just trying to get fit. When he finally made his debut against Aston Villa, he scored a penalty and looked like he might actually have something left in the tank. He didn’t.

He played exactly one more game for the club. Pato’s stint at Chelsea was the footballing equivalent of a guest appearance on a failing sitcom; everyone was happy to see him, but nobody knew why he was there, and he was gone before the next commercial break.

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18. Radamel Falcao (2015–2016)

After Falcao looked like a shadow of his former self at Manchester United, Jose Mourinho in a fit of peak managerial arrogance, decided he could “fix” the Colombian striker. Chelsea signed him on loan in 2015, convinced that “El Tigre” just needed a bit of Portuguese love to find his roar again.

He didn’t. He looked like he was playing in a pair of lead boots. Falcao managed one goal, a header in a loss to Crystal Palace, before a series of injuries effectively ended his season.

It was painful to watch. One of the greatest strikers of his generation was reduced to a mascot.

He went back to Monaco, immediately started scoring again, and Chelsea fans were left wondering if they’d accidentally signed his retired older brother.

17. Ricardo Quaresma (2009)

If there was ever a player who embodied the “all style, no substance” era of Chelsea’s temporary fixes, it was Quaresma. A master of the trivela and a man with more flair in his pinky than most wingers have in their entire bodies, Quaresma arrived on loan from Inter Milan in 2009.

Guus Hiddink didn’t really know what to do with him. Quaresma was a luxury player in a team that was built on grit and tactical discipline. He made four appearances, did a few step-overs that went nowhere, and provided one assist before being sent back to Italy.

He’s a legend in Portugal and Turkey, but his time in London was a total non-event. He was a shiny toy that Chelsea played with for five minutes before getting bored and putting it back in the box.

16. Papy Djilobodji (2015–2016)

This is arguably the most bizarre signing in the history of the club. On deadline day in 2015, after failing to sign John Stones, Chelsea panicked and bought Djilobodji from Nantes for £3 million.

Jose Mourinho famously admitted he hadn’t even scouted the player. Djilobodji’s entire Chelsea career lasted exactly one minute. He came on as a late substitute in a League Cup game against Walsall, touched the ball maybe once, and was never seen again in a blue shirt.

He was sold to Sunderland a year later for a profit, a masterclass in Chelsea’s ability to flip players they never intended to use. To this day, the mention of his name brings a wry smile to any fan who remembers the sheer absurdity of that summer.

15. Steve Sidwell (2007–2008)

When Steve Sidwell was handed the number 9 shirt at Chelsea, the collective groan from the Stamford Bridge faithful could be heard from space. Signed on a free from Reading, Sidwell was brought in to provide “squad depth,” but giving him the iconic striker’s number was a slap in the face to tradition.

Sidwell was a perfectly fine Premier League midfielder, but he was never “Chelsea level.” He struggled to get past Frank Lampard and Michael Essien (shocker) and spent most of his time as a late-game substitute, used to kill time.

He stayed for exactly one season before being shipped off to Aston Villa. He’s better remembered for his time at Fulham and Stoke, but for one weird year, he was Chelsea’s number 9. It’s a fact that still feels wrong to say out loud.

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14. Franco Di Santo (2008–2010)

There was a time when Di Santo was hailed as the “Next Hernan Crespo.” He was a towering young Argentine striker with soft feet and massive potential. Chelsea plucked him from Audax Italiano in Chile, thinking they’d found a diamond in the rough.

The diamond turned out to be a pebble. Di Santo looked completely lost in the Premier League. He made 16 substitute appearances for Chelsea and scored zero goals. Not one.

He was eventually sent on loan to Blackburn and then sold to Wigan, where he actually carved out a decent career, but at Chelsea, he was the definition of a “project” that never even got off the ground. He was a placeholder for better strikers who actually knew where the goal was.

13. Mineiro (2008–2009)

Luiz Felipe Scolari brought Mineiro to Chelsea as a 33-year-old defensive midfielder to provide cover for Michael Essien. It was a move that baffled everyone at the time and looks even weirder in hindsight.

Mineiro was a Brazilian international, but he was well past his prime. He played one game in the League Cup and one game in the Premier League. He was essentially a human insurance policy that the club never had to cash in.

He vanished at the end of the season, heading to Schalke, leaving Chelsea fans wondering if they’d actually seen him play or if he was just a ghost who haunted the bench for nine months.

12. Yossi Benayoun (2010–2013)

Benayoun was a wonderful player at Liverpool and West Ham, but his move to Chelsea in 2010 felt like a transaction made for the sake of it. He was 30 years old and already starting to pick up the injuries that would plague his later years.

He suffered an Achilles tear early in his first season and never really recovered his form. He spent most of his Chelsea tenure on loan at Arsenal and West Ham.

When he did play, he was tidy, but he lacked the dynamism that Chelsea’s midfield required at the time. He ended his stay with just 14 appearances. He’s a legend of the Premier League era, but his time in West London is a footnote that most people have conveniently deleted from their memory.

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11. Eduardo (2016–2019)

If Rob Green was the king of the “paid holiday” at Chelsea, Eduardo was the prince. A Portuguese international goalkeeper with a solid career behind him, Eduardo was signed in 2016 as the third-choice keeper.

He stayed for three years. He played zero games. Not even a League Cup cameo against a League Two side. He was purely there to train and keep the vibes high.

He eventually went on loan to Vitesse and then returned to Portugal, but for three years, he was a permanent fixture on the Chelsea bench or in the stands. He got to train with world-class players, live in London, and collect a Premier League winner’s medal in 2017 without ever having to break a sweat on a matchday. It’s the dream.

10. Davide Zappacosta (2017–2021)

There is a specific type of Chelsea signing that screams “we missed out on our first five targets.” Davide Zappacosta was exactly that. Brought in on deadline day in 2017 for a hefty €30 million, he was the consolation prize after the club failed to land more glamorous options for Antonio Conte’s wing-back system.

He actually started like a house on fire. In a Champions League thumping of Qarabag, he carried the ball from his own half and lashed a cross-shot into the far corner. It looked like a stroke of genius. It wasn’t. It was a fluke.

Zappacosta spent the rest of his London career looking like a man perpetually lost in a London fog. He wasn’t bad, per se; he was just remarkably average in a team that demanded excellence.

While Victor Moses thrived under Conte, Zappacosta became a footnote, eventually embarking on the mandatory Chelsea loan world tour. By the time he was sold to Atalanta in 2021, most fans were surprised to find out he was still on the payroll.

9. Claudio Pizarro (2007–2009)

If you look at Claudio Pizarro’s career in the Bundesliga, he is a god. A clinical, ruthless, ageless scoring machine. If you look at his time at Chelsea, he’s a trivia answer that nobody gets right.

Pizarro arrived on a free transfer in 2007, a move that felt like a low-risk, high-reward steal. Instead, it was just low-reward. He scored on his debut against Birmingham City and then, for all intents and purposes, retired from scoring goals in England.

He looked heavy, off the pace, and completely overawed by the physicality of the Premier League. With Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka around, Pizarro’s Chelsea career was doomed to the shadows. He managed just two goals in 32 appearances.

He went back to Germany, immediately started scoring again, and left Chelsea fans wondering if they’d actually signed a body double.

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8. Gaël Kakuta (2007–2015)

Gaël Kakuta is less a player and more a cautionary tale. In 2009, Chelsea were hit with a transfer ban because of the murky circumstances surrounding his move from Lens.

The club fought tooth and nail for him because he was supposedly the “chosen one,” a talent so bright he was worth a legal war.

The reality was a damp squib. Kakuta had feet like velvet, but in a Chelsea shirt, he had the physical presence of a ghost. He was the original victim of the loan system, sent to six different clubs in five different countries.

The “most gifted player of his generation” label became an anchor around his neck. Every time he returned for pre-season, there was a faint hope he’d finally break through, only for him to be shipped off to Vitesse or Lazio weeks later.

He eventually left with just a handful of appearances to his name, a monument to wasted hype.

7. Loic Remy (2014–2016)

Loic Remy was the ultimate “break glass in case of emergency” striker. When Chelsea triggered his £10.5 million release clause from QPR in 2014, everyone knew the deal. He wasn’t there to lead the line; he was there to sit on the bench and sniff out a goal in the 82nd minute when Diego Costa’s hamstrings inevitably gave out.

To his credit, he did exactly that for a while.

He scored crucial winners against Hull and Stoke during the 2014/15 title win. But Remy’s Chelsea career suffered from a total lack of identity. He was a nomad who never stayed healthy or consistent enough to be anything more than a bit-part player.

By the time he left for Las Palmas, his stint at the Bridge felt like a fever dream. He was a talented goalscorer who seemed perfectly content to be the third wheel, and in the cutthroat world of Chelsea, that usually means you’re forgotten before the ink on your exit contract is dry.

6. Robert Huth (2001–2006)

Before he was the granite-jawed titan at the heart of Leicester City’s miracle title win, Robert Huth was Chelsea’s resident teenage hatchet man.

A product of the youth system, Huth was the “Incredible Hulk” of the early 2000s, known mostly for having a shot so powerful it probably should have required a firearm license.

Huth was a casualty of the Roman revolution. He was a solid, old-school defender, but when Jose Mourinho arrived with Ricardo Carvalho and William Gallas, there was no room for a raw German kid who prioritised kicking people over tactical nuance.

He won two Premier League medals with Chelsea, but he was always the fourth choice. It took a move to the Midlands for the rest of the world to realise how good he actually was.

At Chelsea, he was just the guy who came on for the last five minutes to head everything away and occasionally try to kill a goalkeeper with a free kick.

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5. Scott Sinclair (2005–2010)

Scott Sinclair was the poster boy for the Chelsea academy’s “lost generation.” He was fast, direct, and looked like the future of the English wing.

He even scored a lovely goal against Hull in the cup that had everyone convinced he was the heir to Arjen Robben.

Then came the loans. Plymouth, QPR, Charlton, Crystal Palace, Birmingham, Wigan. Sinclair spent more time in the back of a taxi moving between training grounds than he did on the Stamford Bridge pitch.

Chelsea never really gave him a run of games to see if the talent was real. He was treated like an asset to be flipped rather than a player to be developed.

He eventually found his level at Swansea and Celtic, proving he was a top-tier talent, but his Chelsea career is a blink-and-you ’ll-miss-it sequence of substitute appearances.

4. Glen Johnson (2003–2007)

People associate Glen Johnson with Liverpool or Portsmouth, but he was actually the very first signing of the Abramovich era. Chelsea paid £6 million for him in 2003, a huge sum for a young right-back at the time.

Johnson was a “New Chelsea” player, attacking, flashy, and full of potential. But he was also prone to the kind of defensive lapses that made Jose Mourinho’s hair turn grey. Once Paulo Ferreira arrived, Johnson was essentially done.

He was farmed out on loan to Portsmouth and eventually sold there, where he finally matured into the England international everyone expected him to be.

His time at Chelsea is a weird bridge between the pre-money days and the juggernaut they became, but he never truly felt like he belonged in that ruthless winning machine.

3. Yuriy Zhirkov (2009–2011)

In 2009, Chelsea spent £18 million on Yuriy Zhirkov, the “Russian Ronaldinho.” He arrived with a massive reputation after tearing it up for CSKA Moscow and the Russian national team. He was supposed to be the versatile engine that gave Carlo Ancelotti tactical flexibility.

Instead, he was mostly a very expensive backup to Ashley Cole. Zhirkov was a fine player—technical, disciplined, and occasionally brilliant, but he had the charisma of a library book.

He scored one absolute thunderbolt in the Champions League against Spartak Moscow, but other than that, he just sort of existed.

He never seemed comfortable in London and returned to Russia after just two seasons.

He wasn’t a flop, but he was so unremarkable in his efficiency that his name rarely comes up when fans talk about the great Ancelotti side of 2010.

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2. Rob Green (2018–2019)

Rob Green’s Chelsea career is perhaps the greatest “finessing” of a paycheck in the history of the sport. Signed as a 38-year-old third-choice goalkeeper to help with homegrown quotas, Green never played a single competitive minute for the club.

He is a Chelsea legend for all the wrong (and right) reasons. When Chelsea won the Europa League in 2019, Green was the first man in full kit, hoisting the trophy and celebrating like he’d saved three penalties in the shootout.

He became a cult hero for his self-awareness, leaning into the absurdity of being a professional tourist. He retired immediately after that final.

He came, he saw, he sat on the bench, he collected a winner’s medal, and he left. It’s the ultimate “work smarter, not harder” career move.

1. Tiemoue Bakayoko (2017–2023)

Number one couldn’t be anyone else. Tiemoue Bakayoko is the definitive “forgotten” player because Chelsea fans spent half a decade trying to forget he was still on the books.

Bought in for £40 million to replace Nemanja Matic, Bakayoko was fresh off a dominant season with Monaco. He was supposed to be the physical powerhouse that allowed N’Golo Kante to roam free. Instead, he produced one of the most disastrous individual seasons in the club’s history.

His performance against Watford, where he was sent off after 30 minutes of pure chaos, remains a core memory for traumatised Chelsea supporters.

After that first season, Bakayoko became the ultimate nomad. He was loaned to Milan, Monaco, Napoli, and Milan again.

Every summer, he would reappear in training photos, a haunting reminder of a transfer gone horribly wrong, before being shuffled off to Italy once more. He finally left on a free transfer in 2023, ending a six-year stay where he only actually played for one of them.

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