Jose Mourinho may regret allowing Petr Cech to sign for Arsenal, and here are 15 other big names the Chelsea manager let go... so, did he get these RIGHT or WRONG?
Captain
John Terry certainly is, having admitted Cech could be worth up to 15
points a season to Arsenal – a total which would have been enough to see
Arsene Wenger win the title instead of the Blues last season.
Will
it prove to be a hit or miss by Jose Mourinho? The Chelsea manager has
sold his fair share of big names in the past and here, Sportsmail decides whether he got them right or wrong.
What Chelsea's Petr Cech could look like when he joins Arsenal for next season in the Premier League
Jose Mourinho may regret allowing Cech to leave for Arsenal next season as he tries to defend his title
Chelsea supporters will be hoping Mourinho has not made a mistake in allowing the goalkeeper to join Arsenal
Arjen Robben
Bought for: £12.1million from PSV in 2004
Sold for: £24m to Real Madrid in 2007
A tidy profit, almost doubling Roman Abramovich's investment, but Robben just kept getting better.
The
31-year-old Bayern Munich man remains one of the world's greatest
wingers and a thorn in Chelsea's side when they met Robben in the
Champions League, even if Cech did save his penalty during the 2012
final.
Robben
joined Real Madrid for £24m on August 22, 2007 – a month before
Mourinho made his shock Chelsea exit. Mourinho showed no regret in 2013
when he said: 'We had Arjen Robben unhappy, we sold him to Real Madrid
because he wanted so much to go to Madrid.'
Verdict: WRONG
Arjen Robben left for Real Madrid but kept getting better and he now stars for Bayern Munich at the age of 31
Romelu Lukaku
Bought for: £10m, rising to £17m with add-ons, from Anderlecht in 2011
Sold for: £28m to Everton in 2014
Though
Chelsea have found themselves in a striker crisis at times, relying
heavily on Diego Costa last season, they went on to win the title quite
comfortably without Lukaku.
The
Belgium international made 36 appearances for Everton during the last
campaign, and scored 10 goals as they finished a disappointing 11th.
To
think Lukaku said in October 2013 ahead of his season on loan at
Goodison Park: 'I hope my goals will help Everton finish higher than
Chelsea.'
Verdict: RIGHT
Romelu Lukaku left for £28m for Everton but Mourinho can rest assured he made the right decision
Juan Mata
Bought for: £23.5m from Valencia in 2011
Sold for: £37.1m to Manchester United in 2014
It's
a head-scratcher as to why Mata could not become a regular under
Mourinho in west London, where the midfielder was popular with
supporters.
Mata
showed how much he still has to offer in the Premier League with two
outstanding goals against Liverpool at Anfield in March, and Mourinho
was wrong to let him join Chelsea's rivals.
Verdict: WRONG
Juan Mata showed Chelsea what they are missing at Manchester United, particularly against Liverpool
Fernando Torres
Bought for: £50m from Liverpool in 2011
Sold for: Loaned to AC Milan to see out his contract in 2014
Sometimes
you just have to chalk it off as a mistake, and an expensive one at
that. Whenever his fee of £50m is mentioned, the word 'flop' is not far
behind.
Torres will be remembered for his goal against
Barcelona in the Champions League semi-final as Chelsea went on to win
the competition. Some feel he repaid his fee at the Nou Camp that
evening.
Yet
Mourinho was right to get rid of any dead weight from his squad,
instead of having Torres - now on loan at first club Atletico Madrid
after his Milan switch was made permanent - hanging around like a bad
smell at Stamford Bridge.
Verdict: RIGHT
Fernando Torres was the £50m flop and Mourinho was right to get rid of the striker once and for all
Frank Lampard
Bought for: £11m from West Ham in 2001
Sold for: Released, joined New York City then Manchester City on loan in 2014
Lampard
can only have seen the farewell Steven Gerrard received at Anfield and
wished it was him at Stamford Bridge. It should have been.
Not
to mention, the now-New York City midfielder scored against Chelsea to
earn Man City a 1-1 draw and ending a Blues winning streak. It was not
worth the risk selling to a direct title rival.
Verdict: WRONG
Frank Lampard did not get a send-off in the style of fellow Premier League legend Steven Gerrard
Andre Schurrle
Bought for: £18m from Bayer Leverkusen in 2013
Sold for: £22m to Wolfsburg in 2015
Another
profit from the shrewd businessman that is Mourinho. The Chelsea
manager got rid of World Cup winner Schurrle after just 14 appearances
in 2014-15.
Mourinho
could live to regret this eventually, but not yet. He bought Juan
Cuadrado for £23.3m, rising to £26.8m, from Fiorentina, and he's looked a
dud. Schurrle must do more in the Bundesliga with Wolfsburg to make his
former boss regret his decision, however.
Verdict: RIGHT
Andre Schurrle left Chelsea after winning the 2014 World Cup with Germany but Mourinho was righ
Ashley Cole
Bought for: £5m (plus William Gallas) from Arsenal in 2006
Sold for: Released, joined Roma in 2014
Once
the world's greatest left back at Chelsea, now third choice at Roma.
Cole has made just 11 appearances in Italy's Serie A since leaving, and
his best years were behind him.
The
former England defender would have played second fiddle to Cesar
Azpilicueta, and Mourinho was right to allow Cole to leave to try his
luck elsewhere, even if it has been unsuccessful.
Verdict: RIGHT
Ashley Cole was once the greatest left back in the world but has fallen behind at Roma since leaving Chelsea
Kevin de Bruyne
Bought for: £7m from Genk in 2012
Sold for: £18m to Wolfsburg in 2014
De
Bruyne made just three appearances in the Premier League and could not
persuade Mourinho to keep him, even if he did provide an assist on his
competitive debut against Hull City.
Wolfsburg paid £18m for the now-Manchester City target and have not regretted that fee.
De
Bruyne ended his debut season in the Bundesliga with 10 goals and 21
assists, the latter a new record, and the German club finished second
behind Bayern Munich to secure qualification for the Champions League.
De Bruyne also scored as Wolfsburg won the German Cup final.
Verdict: WRONG
Kevin de Bruyne has proved a hit at Wolfsburg and Chelsea could still have made use of the attacker
Scott Parker
Bought for: £10m from Charlton Athletic in 2004
Sold for: £6.5m to Newcastle United in 2005
He
made way for Arjen Robben and Tiago Mendes but classy midfielder Parker
went on to prove he could have had a bright future at Chelsea.
He joined Newcastle, won the Intertoto Cup, then had a career with West Ham and Tottenham Hotspur before Fulham.
Parker
won Hammer of the Year in 2009, 2010 and 2011, FWA Footballer of the
Year in 2011, England Player of the Year in 2011 and was in the PFA
Premier League Team of the Year in 2012.
Verdict: WRONG
Scott Parker made way for Robben and Tiago Mendes but the midfielder could have offered more at Chelsea
David Luiz
Bought for: £17.8m from Benfica in 2011
Sold for: £50m to Paris Saint-Germain in 2014
Mourinho
must still be laughing at how he got £50m for a defender, particularly
when it was for Luiz, who captained Brazil in their 7-1 humiliation
against Germany in the World Cup semi-final.
Chelsea
received the world-record transfer fee for a defender and they have not
regretted allowing him to leave. Luiz won the domestic treble in
France, where the competition is not too fierce.
Verdict: RIGHT
Chelsea received £50m for David Luiz and it was the right decision by Mourinho to sell the Brazil defender
Eidur Gudjohnsen
Bought for: £4m from Bolton Wanderers in 2000
Sold for: £8m to Barcelona in 2006
Chelsea
got the best out of Gudjohnsen during his time in west London, where
the forward scored 54 goals in 186 appearances in the Premier League.
Mourinho,
as per, doubled his money, and Gudjohnsen went on to play for a variety
of clubs including Barcelona and Monaco. An iconic player whose best
years were spent at Chelsea.
Verdict: RIGHT
Eidur Gudjohnsen played his best football at Chelsea and Mourinho was right to sell to Barcelona
Adrian Mutu
Bought for: £15.8m from Parma in 2003
Sold for: Released, joined Juventus in 2004
Mutu started life at Chelsea with four goals in three matches, but it was downhill from there.
A
difficult relationship with Mourinho was the least of his problems when
he failed a drugs test for cocaine in September 2004 and was released a
month later. He was also slapped with a seven-month ban and a £20,000
fine from the Football Association before Chelsea wanted compensation.
Mutu went on to do a job for Fiorentina, scoring 54 goals in 112 appearances, but Mourinho was right to kick out the forward.
Verdict: RIGHT
Adrian Mutu had his controversies at Chelsea and it was right that Mourinho saw the player was kicked out
Damien Duff
Bought for: £17m from Blackburn Rovers in 2003
Sold for: £5m to Newcastle United in 2006
There
was more to come from Duff in west London. He'd just won a second
consecutive title, having made 28 appearances in the Premier League, yet
was sold for spare change to take a £12m loss.
Duff
created a wing partnership with Arjen Robben, and even scored against
Barcelona in a 4-2 win in the Champions League. Chelsea finished second
to Manchester United after getting rid and, though Duff may not have
made a difference, Mourinho could have done more with him.
Verdict: WRONG
Damien Duff could have done more at Chelsea after winning back-to-back titles with the club
William Gallas
Bought for: £6.2m from Marseille in 2001
Sold for: As a swap for Ashley Cole to Arsenal in 2006
Gallas
won back-to-back Premier League titles with Chelsea, and showed
versatility as Mourinho used him across the backline during these two
dominant years in west London.
Yet what makes this transfer right is that Chelsea got Ashley Cole in return.
It
proved a shrewd move as the club went on to win the Premier League, the
FA Cup four times, the Champions League and Europa League with Gallas's
replacement.
Verdict: RIGHT
William Gallas being sent to Arsenal was a right decision by Mourinho as they got left back Cole in return
Demba Ba
Bought for: £7m from Newcastle United in 2013
Sold for: £4.3m to Besiktas in 2014
The
same old curse of the Chelsea striker followed Ba when he joined from
Newcastle for £7m. The forward could not cut it at Stamford Bridge like
he could at St James' Park.
Mourinho
was better off trying to get as much of his fee back as possible with
the arrival of Diego Costa and Ba has done admirably at Besiktas since
leaving Chelsea for £4.3m.
Verdict: RIGHT
Demba Ba could not cut it at Chelsea like he could at Newcastle United and Mourinho was right to sell up
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