Chelsea fans will remember Winston Bogarde; but not for all the right reasons.
The Dutch centre-back joined the Blues from Barcelona on a free transfer in the summer of 2000 and declared the move to join Gianluca Vialli’s side the ‘ultimate dream’ (Telegraph).
However, it was nothing but an ultimate nightmare for the experienced enforcer.
Vialli was shortly sacked as manager following Bogarde’s arrival (and we’re still questioning if it was his arrival that forced Chelsea into handing the Italian his P45), which brought in another Italian to the club in Claudio Ranieri.
The new Stamford Bridge manager gave the defender a chance, although he made just nine Premier League appearances in his debut campaign.
Ranieri made it rather clear that Bogarde was not wanted in SW6 and was told to find a new club, however, the enforcer was more than happy with the contract he was on and famously decided to remain at the club and see out that deal.
Remember, this was pre-Roman Abramovich era and Chelsea were not a club that were always able to throw around the cash when it came to new additions.
But, the Blues somehow came to the conclusion that the then-29-year-old deserved a four-year deal worth around £40,000-a-week!
In that time, he made 11 of his 12 appearances in his first season with Chelsea. His second and fourth years yielded zero minutes on the pitch while his final appearance came in the League Cup during his third year against Gillingham.
“This world is about money, so when you are offered those millions you take them,’ he is quoted as saying (via Daily Mail). ‘Few people will ever earn so many. I am one of the few fortunate who do. I may be one of the worst buys in the history of the Premiership but I don’t care.”
Needless to say, he never played professional football again following that disastrous time at Chelsea and it would not have been a surprise if clubs had seen his greed as a real turn off.
Chelsea fans, do you remember Bogarde? Let us know below!
