Chelsea's Top 5 Sales
The new Chairmen and owners of Chelsea FC, Paul Hewson and Ben Dover, have been at the club a while now, and whilst they haven't sacked the manager yet, they have shown Roman-like ruthlessness when it comes to selling the deadwood.
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The Chelsea fanslove their legends and keep them at the club for long - as has happened with John Terry and Frank Lampard. But if one is past their best, then the fans will be happy to see an offer come in from another club to take them away. Michael Essien was never quite a legend but was one of the world's best players when at Chelsea. The 31 year old was deemed surplus to requirements even by the returning Jose Mourinho, Essien's boss during his prime, and sold to Norwich City for an astonishing £8m.
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Samuel Eto'o was also a legend. Unlike Essien, he wasn't a Chelsea hero but one of the greats of the world game, yet, as was the case with Essien, it was clear that the Cameroonian was past it. The striker signed from Anzi Makhachkala in Russia, on a one year deal. He would serve just weeks though, as the former Barcelona man who also played for Real Madrid and Internazionale, was shipped out to Hull City. Chelsea did make a profit though, with some £115k removed from the wage bill and £15m more in the transfer budget.
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Big characters, big teams, and big players mean big bucks. As new owner Win-Scent Tan settles into his new role in Wales, his Cardiff team are making big progress, as they make big moves. £23m is the fee going to Chelsea who sell Marco van Ginkel to Cardiff. The young winger had only recently signed from Vitesse Arnhem, an affiliate of Chelsea, and most people expected him to be loaned back out to the Dutch side, but Chelsea have agreed a deal with the Bluebirds/Dragons, who they will have to pay £35m to if they ever want him back.
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Many a player goes into Chelsea's youth academy wishing to be the new John Terry, a loyal one club man and one of the best players in the world. Not many get through, but one of them made it into the first team. Ryan Bertrand's Chelsea career has been full of highs. After joining from Gillingham in 2005, around the same time as Ashley Cole, he made his debut against Birmingham City in April 2011, and impressed sufficiently that a year later, he was making his European debut in the Champions League final, at left wing. Now, after 28 first team appearances, he has gone to Hull City alongside Samuel Eto'o for £12m.
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Fittingly for someone nicknamed El Nino, the Kid, it seemed to be men against boys. When you pay £50m for someone to score goals, you don't want him to score just 17 goals. You want more than 17. Per season. But Fernando Torres did not deliver. 1 goal in his first season, in 14 games. So it was not good enough in the end. The price tag brought pressure onto Torres but now he has gone, controversially to rivals Arsenal. The club has sold him at a cut price £20m deal, plus Park-Chu Young.