When Jose Mourinho arrives at a club he likes the build the team in his own image. That means bringing in new players and shedding the players Mourinho puts in his doghouse, whether they deserve it or not. In his time at Chelsea, Jose Mourniho cut a lot of players loose. It didn’t matter whether the player was an anchor for the club, a former player of the year, or a player with high potential who many thought would go on to be a star.
Here is a starting XI of players that Mourinho has let leave Chelsea while he was manager. This team will be lining up in a 4-3-3 formation in honor of that being the original formation Mourinho used at Chelsea, before getting rid of that to use the more boring 4-2-3-1 in his second stint.
Petr Cech
Felipe Luis David Luiz Robert Huth Ryan Bertrand
Michael Essien
Frank Lampard Juan Mata
Kevin de Bruyne Andre Schurrle
Romelu Lukaku
Goalkeeper:
Petr Cech (Sold summer 2015)
LONDON, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 11: Petr Cech of Chelsea during the Barclays Premier League match between Chelsea and Everton at Stamford Bridge on February 11, 2015 in London, England (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)
Of all the moves Mourinho made, this one made the most sense. Thibaut Courtois had developed into one of the worlds best goalkeepers and it was simply time for Chelsea to make him the no. 1. Cech understandably wanted to go somewhere where he would still play. While selling him was certainly the right move, I’m sure Jose wishes he still had Cech when Courtois spent most of the first half of the season injured.
Fullbacks:
Filipe Luis (Sold summer 2015)
Chelsea only bought Luis to the club in the summer of 2014, paying £15.8 million to get the defender as a replacement for Ashley Cole. For that kind of money you would expect Mourinho to keep the player for more then just a year, but Luis was never able to fully beat out Cesar Azpilicueta for the starting left back spot. He signed with Atletico Madrid after just one season, and one Premier League title, with Chelsea.
Ryan Bertrand (Sold winter 2015)
This is cheating a little since both Luis and Bertrand are both left backs, but it turns out, Jose didn’t really sell many non-academy right backs during his time as Chelsea manager (though I’m sure he wishes he sold Branislov Ivanovic before this season). Bertrand was a victim of the Chelsea loan policy, where they loan out 20-30 players a season, hope one of them catches on and then commands a big fee from another club. In Bertrand’s case, that club was Southampton where he continues to excel.
Centerbacks:
David Luiz (Sold summer 2014)
When a club like PSG comes in with a £50 million offer for a defender, it’s almost impossible to say no. It was still a curious move though since it’s not like Chelsea had a surplus of central defenders and they didn’t exactly try and replace Luiz. £50 million is a lot of money, but it was Luiz who ultimately got the last laugh, when he scored a late goal against Chelsea to eliminate them from the Champions League last season.
Robert Huth (Sold summer 2006)
LONDON – MARCH 11: Robert Huth of Chelsea in action during the Barclays Premiership match between Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur at Stamford Bridge on March 11, 2006 in London, England. (Photo by Phil Cole/Getty Images)
I know going back to Mourinho’s first stint with the club is a stretch but for all the players Mourinho sold he really didn’t sell many defenders. Of all the non-left backs Mourinho let leave Chelsea, Huth is pretty much the only one besides Luiz who is playing first team football in a top European League, and that team (Leicester City) just happens to be leading the Premier League. Huth might be the weak link in this team, but with the attacking talent Mourinho has let go, they’ll be able to overcompensate for him.
Central Midfielders
Michael Essien (signed with AC Milan winter 2014)
Essien may be getting up there in age but if you haven’t noticed yet, there’s a bit of a theme developing here. Jose seemed to trust the defensive players he inherited and didn’t feel the need to sell them (he was also the manager who signed Essien to Chelsea in 2005). Essien may have lost a step over the years, but he’s still more then capable of sitting back and protecting the back four.
Frank Lampard (signed with NYCFC/Manchester City summer 2014)
Letting Frank Lampard go is still puzzling. He was getting older but he wanted to return to the club and would have done so in a reduced role. Not only that, but along with John Terry, the man is “Mr. Chelsea.” Those players are important pieces to have at your club especially when your overhauling most of your roster. Despite not being as great as he once was, as Manchester City immediately proved, if you pick and choose where you use Lampard, he can still be deadly. Chelsea found that out all too well last year when Lampard scored a late equalizer for Manchester City at the Etihad.
Juan Mata (Sold winter 2014)
Poor Juan Mata. He won Chelsea’s Player of the Year award in consecutive seasons as well as Chelsea’s Player’s Player of the Year award in 2013. Then Jose Mourinho arrived and Mata was immediately thrown into the doghouse for reasons that no one really knows. Despite Mourinho pinning him to the bench he was still able to command a £37.1 million fee from Manchester United where David Moyes promptly had no idea how to use him. The following season it took half the year for Louis van Gaal to realize that Mata is pretty good, and when he finally let him play, United started winning. Chelsea have struggled with creativity this season, the kind of creativity Mata serves in abundance.
Left Wing:
Andre Schurrle (Sold winter 2015)
Schurrle is one of the more interesting cases with Mourinho. Mourinho spent £18 million to make the German international his first signing of his second stint at Stamford Bridge. He scored eight goals in his first season with Chelsea. However midway through his second season, he returned home to Germany when Wolfsburg spent £22 million to bring him back to the Bundesliga where he has continued to shine for both club and country.
Right Wing:
Kevin de Bruyne (Sold winter 2014)
We’re now into the really puzzling sales made by Mourinho. When Mourinho arrived at Chelsea he assured de Bruyne that he was a part of Chelsea’s plans. de Bruyne then made just nine appearances and five starts (three in the League Cup) for Chelsea in all competitions during the first half of the season. He was an unused substitute in seven total matches and was left out of the squad completely 15 times. That winter he completed an £18 million move to Wolfsburg. Following two and a half successful seasons in the Bundesliga, de Bruyne came back to the Premier League in a £55 million deal with Manchester City. He is currently completely outshining any of Chelsea’s current attackers in the Premier League.
Striker:
Romelu Lukaku (Sold summer 2014)
This is easily the most perplexing sale of Mourinho’s tenure. When Mourinho returned to Stamford Bridge in the summer of 2013, Lukaku was coming off a very successful loan spell at West Bromwich Albion where he had scored 17 goals the previous season. Despite being Chelsea’s best striker, Mourinho sent him out on loan to Everton, and instead opted for the inept Fernando Torres, the ancient Samuel Eto’o, and the never was good enough to play for Chelsea anyway Demba Ba. Lukaku has since made the move to Everton permanent where he continues to outshine Chelsea striker Diego Costa and will likely continue to do so for years to come.
