From Ron Harris to Frank Lampard, we commemorate the biggest Chelsea legends and reveal the club’s greatest player of all time.
It is somewhat inevitable that most of Chelsea’s best players hail from an era after Roman Abramovich took over at Stamford Bridge, but there are still club legends from further into the past who deserve to be included in a list of their greatest to have worn the blue shirt.
The Blues have fielded some fantastic players throughout their history and, as a result, are regularly among the favourites in the football betting to win the sport’s biggest trophies.
Here is our list of the top ten Chelsea players of all time.
Best Chelsea players ever
10. Ron Harris
There are few cult heroes at Stamford Bridge bigger than Ron ‘Chopper’ Harris who made nearly 800 appearances for the club between 1962 and 1980.
Known for his rough tackling style, he captained the Blues to their 1970 FA Cup triumph over Leeds and the Cup Winners’ Cup final victory over Real Madrid
9. Ashley Cole
England left-back Ashley Cole made a controversial move from Arsenal to join Chelsea in 2006.
Regarded as one of the greatest defenders of his generation, he claimed a 2010 Premier League title while at the Bridge and four of his record seven FA Cup triumphs as well as the Champions League in 2012.
8. Peter Bonetti
Peter Bonetti will unfairly be mostly remembered for his performance for England against West Germany in the 1970 World Cup quarter-final, but he was a superb goalkeeper for Chelsea.
Known as The Cat, he was a key figure at the club in the 1960s and 1970s, making more than 700 Chelsea appearances in two spells, maintaining his great reflexes.
7. Peter Osgood
If Bonetti was keeping opponents out at one end, another Peter, Osgood, was the star of the show at the other.
The King of Stamford Bridge will always be fondly remembered at the club where he scored more than 100 goals, including a diving-header equaliser against Leeds in the 1970 FA Cup final replay.
6. Eden Hazard
Eden Hazard can probably be regarded as the best Chelsea player of the post-Jose Mourinho era after he joined the club from Ligue 1 Lille in 2012.
He scored 110 goals in 352 appearances during a seven-year stay in west London, winning two Premier League titles, two Europa Leagues and the PFA player of the year award in 2015.
5. Petr Cech
Czech goalkeeper Petr Cech played a huge role in Chelsea’s success in the first two decades of the 21st century, keeping 202 clean sheets in 443 Premier League appearances for the club.
He was part of the team that won the 2021 Champions League and also won four Premier League titles during his dream spell at the club.
4. Didier Drogba
Didier Drogba is regarded as one of the great centre forwards of the Premier League era and one who many defenders found it almost impossible to play against.
He scored many important goals for the Blues, including the winner in the 2007 FA Cup final against Manchester United – the first to be played at the new Wembley Stadium – and the equaliser in the 2012 Champions League against Bayern Munich, when he also scored the crucial penalty in the shootout.
3. Gianfranco Zola
While manager Glenn Hoddle had signed Ruud Gullit when he was in charge at Stamford Bridge, it was the Dutchman who struck gold when he took over and signed the diminutive genius Gianfranco Zola.
The Italian dazzled defences in his time at the club and is rightly regarded as one of their star players of all time, adhering himself to football fans everywhere with his skills and happy demeanour.
2. John Terry
John Terry is the most successful Chelsea captain of all time.
In his 19 years at the club, he led them to five Premier League titles, five FA Cup wins, three League Cup wins and a Europa League with only a suspension stopping him from adding the Champions League to that list.
He is the club’s top goalscoring defender, scoring 67 goals in 717 appearances and was their undoubted leader during the club’s most successful period.
1. Frank Lampard
There were a few eyebrows raised when Chelsea signed Frank Lampard from West Ham in 2001 but it turned out to be a bargain.
He went on to not only be the highest-scoring midfielder in Premier League history, but also the top marksman at Chelsea, overturning Bobby Tambling’s record and going on to score a total of 211 goals for the club.
Lampard picked up every club honour there was to have and is hailed as Chelsea’s greatest ever.
SEE ALSO: Top 10 best Arsenal players ever
Chelsea all-time XI
Here’s how Chelsea’s best ever players could be assembled in a line-up on the pitch.
GK: Petr Cech
RB: Cesar Azpilicueta
CB: Ron Harris
CB: John Terry
LB: Ashley Cole
CM: Frank Lampard
CM: Michael Essien
AM: Gianfranco Zola
RW: Charlie Cooke
LW: Eden Hazard
CF: Didier Drogba
Chelsea captains list
Chelsea have had some incredible leaders during their history, and many of their best players have at times worn the captain’s armband. The following players have all been previously named as Chelsea’s club captain.
John Harris (1945-1953)
Roy Bentley (1953–1956)
Ken Armstrong (1956–1957)
Derek Saunders (1957–1959)
Frank Blunstone (1959–1964)
Terry Venables (1964–1966)
Ron Harris (1966–1980)
Micky Droy (1980–1984)
Colin Pates (1984–1988)
Graham Roberts (1988–1990)
Peter Nicholas (1990–1991)
Andy Townsend (1991–1993)
Dennis Wise (1993–2001)
Marcel Desailly (2001–2004)
John Terry (2004–2017)
Gary Cahill (2017–2019)
César Azpilicueta (2019–2023)
Reece James (2023–)
SEE ALSO: Top 10 best Man City players ever