Ranking the Top 10 Chelsea Free Transfers of the Premier League Era
We're at that time of year when football clubs begin to sweat. It's in January that players with six months remaining on their contracts are allowed to start speaking with rival clubs overseas, meaning their present employers get nothing in return should they leave.
Bosman transfers changed football, and while Chelsea have fallen victim to them in the past, the Blues have equally benefited, signing some well-known names for absolutely nothing.
There have been some horror stories along the way—think the signing of Winston Bogarde from Barcelona in 2000—yet there are some influential figures in Chelsea's history that were signed on the back of the Bosman ruling.
Join us as we count down the top 10 free signings Chelsea have made since the Premier League's inception.
10. Mikael Forssell
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Before Chelsea were dominating youth football in England and flirting with the notion of having their first XI rammed full of academy talent, Mikael Forssell was selling the dream of a young player making it at Stamford Bridge.
He had been signed for nothing from HJK Helsinki in the summer 1998 by Gianluca Vialli, and soon the buzz started to circle around him when he scored twice in an FA Cup tie with Oxford United to win Chelsea the game.
Forssell was still only 17 at the time, but with the likes of George Weah at the club blocking his path to the first team, he was forced to move away on loan for game time. He impressed with Birmingham City and Crystal Palace, but the Blues eventually cashed in by selling him to Birmingham for £3 million in 2005.
In terms of a business transaction, the signing of Forssell proved a good one.
9. Marco Ambrosio
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Talk about being in the right place at the right time.
We knew Chelsea were struggling financially in the summer of 2003, especially when their only signings that year had been goalkeepers. First Jurgen Macho arrived, then Marco Ambrosio was brought in for free from Chievo.
Within a couple of weeks, however, Roman Abramovich stepped in to save the club from financial meltdown, and Ambrosio found himself at the heart of one of the finest stories in Premier League history. Suddenly, Chelsea went on a spending spree, signing every big name they could.
Had it been just a few weeks earlier, there's every chance Ambrosio would never have got his move to west London.
He was supposed to be back-up to Carlo Cudicini, but when his compatriot got injured later that same season, Ambrosio was playing in the Champions League quarter-final against Arsenal. His form in the two legs made him a cult hero among Chelsea fans.
8. Frode Grodas
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Chelsea have done well out of signing goalkeepers for nothing. Before Ambrosio, though, there was Frode Grodas in November 1996.
He joined the Blues from Lillestrom, becoming another addition to the Scandinavian contingent that was flourishing in the Premier League at the time.
Relatively unknown in England, not much was expected from Grodas, but he eventually dislodged Kevin Hitchcock between the sticks to become Chelsea's No. 1. He won the FA Cup that season with the Blues, too.
7. Samuel Eto'o
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Chelsea had always wanted to sign Samuel Eto'o during his prime. While at Barcelona, he ranked comfortably among the world's finest strikers, and the Blues had often been linked with him.
They eventually got their man in 2013, but by this time he was a shadow of the player we had once known in Europe—so much so, Anzhi Makhachkala allowed him to leave for nothing.
Still, he wasn't a complete failure and scored 12 goals in all competitions during his one season with Chelsea, helping them mount a credible title challenge in Jose Mourinho's first year back in west London.
He also bagged a hat-trick against Manchester United.
6. Mario Melchiot
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It took nine months for Mario Melchiot to make his Chelsea debut.
Having joined the Blues from Ajax in the summer of 1999, injury meant he had to wait until April 2000 before Chelsea fans could finally see him action.
It didn't take long for the Dutch ace to show the wait had been worth it. He lit up the right flank for Chelsea, playing as a wing-back or right-back. He even did enough to earn a place in the FA Cup-winning team that season.
Melchiot was sound defensively, but coming through at Ajax, he wasn't afraid of expressing himself further forward, either, often pulling some magic out of the hat.
He spent five seasons at Chelsea, proving a good investment.
5. Gianluca Vialli
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Gianluca Vialli was one of the first of his kind—not a free transfer joining Chelsea, but a genuine star from overseas who would help change the Premier League.
Vialli was a reigning European champion having won the Champions League with Juventus in the season before he arrived at Stamford Bridge. He would become an instant hero, helping give Chelsea their swagger back.
His arrival brought with it a cosmopolitan flavour to west London, with players such as Gianfranco Zola and Roberto Di Matteo soon following him.
He won the FA Cup in his first season, but a year later was manager when the Blues lifted the League Cup and European Cup Winners' Cup.
4. Didier Drogba
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First signed for £24 million in 2004, Chelsea brought Didier Drogba back to the club from Galatasaray a decade later for nothing.
Although older and wiser, things hadn't changed much where Drogba was concerned. He was still a big influence at Chelsea in his second spell with the club, adding another Premier League winners' medal and League Cup medal to his collection.
The 2014/15 season was the one that showed the value of players such as Drogba. He didn't play frequently, but his influence was clear. He helped those around him, notably Diego Costa, and it was no surprise that when he eventually departed for a second time Chelsea would miss him.
The club signed a different player in 2014 to the one they did in 2004, but he was still Drogba.
3. Gus Poyet
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Before he became a Tottenham Hotspur player and manager of the Sunderland side that inflicted Mourinho's first-ever league defeat at Stamford Bridge in 2014, Gus Poyet was a hero to Chelsea fans.
He arrived for nothing from Real Zaragoza in 1997, just after Chelsea had lifted the FA Cup. He would help inspire success in the Cup Winners' Cup and League Cup in his first season.
Not only that, Poyet was a major figure as Chelsea won the FA Cup again in 2000, scoring both goals in their semi-final victory over Newcastle United.
He was a fine player, and it took Frank Lampard to replace him in a Chelsea shirt.
2. Michael Ballack
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It's not often that one of the world's best players becomes available on a free transfer. Well, that's what happened in 2006, when Michael Ballack left Bayern Munich to join Chelsea.
Ballack was revered the world over, so signing him was a major coup for Chelsea. That the move cost them nothing in transfer fees made it even more so.
He didn't disappoint, either. He formed a strong partnership with Lampard in midfield that gave Chelsea one of the finest central pairings in Europe—one that got the Blues to their first European Cup final in 2008.
The German was a smooth operator, a player of genuine class that added to the sense of prestige Chelsea had established under Abramovich.
1. Ruud Gullit
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Has there been a better free transfer in the history of free transfers?
Ruud Gullit wasn't just a major name when he signed for Chelsea in the summer of 1995, he was a symbol of where the club was headed.
Glenn Hoddle had been the manager to change Chelsea as a club, but Gullit was most definitely the figurehead they needed to take the strides forward that we would see in the late 1990s.
When Hoddle departed for the England job in 1996, Gullit took over as boss and changed Chelsea forever. He signed the likes of Vialli and Zola, bringing about new ways of thinking.
Chelsea celebrated the overseas players who would come to change the Premier League, with Gullit one of the most forward-thinking managers of his time.
The Dutchman did so much for Chelsea, and his presence is still felt today.
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