Where are they now? Carlo Ancelotti’s 10 signings as Chelsea manager
Carlo Ancelotti is still fondly remembered among Chelsea fans to this day, but what happened to the 10 players that he signed during his tenure at the club?
The Italian boss spent two years in the Chelsea hot seat and managed to win the Premier League, FA Cup and Community Shield during that time.
In total, he signed 10 players during his tenure at Stamford Bridge and we’ve checked in on where each of those players are today.
Fernando Torres
By far the most expensive signing that Ancelotti made during his stay at Chelsea. The Spanish forward cost a mouthwatering £50million fee back in 2011 and his time in London was a bit of a mixed bag.
While he did score some important goals during his four-year stay, he never really lived up to expectations in a Chelsea shirt.
After enjoying spells in Italy, Spain and Japan, Torres called it quits on his playing career in 2019. He’s since been coaching the Atletico Madrid Under-19s, although he’s set to leave that role at the end of the season in order to pursue other opportunities.
He’s also incredibly hench these days.
David Luiz
“Luiz will be one of the best defenders in the world in the future,” Ancelotti told reporters while discussing Luiz back in 2011.
While he probably didn’t live up to the billing as one of the best defenders in the world, he did earn cult-hero status during his two spells with Chelsea.
His ability on the ball was a huge asset to the Chelsea managers who wanted to build out from the back and during his time at Stamford Bridge, he managed to get his hands on six trophies.
Now 36 years old, Luiz is still active in the game today. These days you can catch him playing for Flamengo, where he’s been impressing since 2021.
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Ramires
Chelsea fans will always have time for Ramires, especially after that goal against Barcelona. On the whole, Ramires proved to be one of Ancelotti’s best signings as Chelsea boss.
The Brazilian made over 250 appearances for the club and spent six years in London before playing out the final years of his career in China and Brazil.
He spent two years without a club before he officially announced his retirement from the game in 2022. Aged 37, he’s now enjoying retired life in his native country.
Yuri Zhirkov
The versatile Russian winger was the first signing that Ancelotti made as Chelsea boss. Funnily enough, all 49 of Zhirkov’s appearances for Chelsea came under the Italian boss.
Zhirkov returned to Russia in 2011 and played out the remainder of his career in the Russian Premier League, before announcing his retirement in February last year.
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Ross Turnbull
Turnbull picked up four trophies during his spell with Chelsea which is decent going considering he only made 19 senior appearances. That works out at one trophy for every 4.75 games he played.
Following stints with Doncaster, Barnsley and Leeds, he hung up his gloves in 2017 and is now back working at Chelsea as a goalkeeping scouting manager.
Yossi Benayoun
Benayoun didn’t have the most memorable of spells with Chelsea. During his three years at the club he only made 14 league appearances and spent time out on loan with Arsenal and West Ham.
After playing out the final years of his career in his native country, he announced his retirement in 2019. Nowadays he works as the sporting director for Beitar Jerusalem, who he previously played for.
Daniel Sturridge
These days you’ll find Sturridge on your TV screens as part of the Sky Sports punditry crew. It’s worth pointing out that the 34-year-old is yet to officially announce his retirement from football, although he has been without a club since 2022.
To be fair to Sturridge, he seems to enjoy the punditry gig and he’s always good value for money when alongside Roy Keane.
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Tomas Kalas
Chelsea splashed a reported £5.2million figure on Kalas back in the summer of 2010, but the defender never really got much of a chance at Stamford Bridge.
He only made four senior appearances and spent the vast majority of his time out on loan. The Czech Republic defender spent his peak years playing for Bristol City in the Championship and now plays in the 2. Bundesliga for Schalke.
Nemanja Matic
Ancelotti was the man in charge when Chelsea originally signed Matic, although the Serbian midfielder only made three senior appearances before he was sold to Benfica.
After honing his craft in Portugal, Chelsea then re-signed Matic in 2014 and the rest is history. After making over 150 appearances and winning two league titles, his return to London was a roaring success.
Following stints with Man Utd, Roma and Rennes, you can now catch him playing for Lyon in Ligue 1.
Matej Delac
Arguably, Ancelotti’s most forgettable signing of the bunch. The Croatian goalkeeper joined Chelsea in 2010 and spent eight years on the books at Stamford Bridge, but never made a senior appearance.
After spending the vast majority of his career out on loan, he eventually left Chelsea in 2018 to join Danish club Horsens where he still plays to this day.