Chelsea have had their fair share of stars pass through the doors at Stamford Bridge, and Nicolas Anelka has singled out one who left before reaching his full potential.
Some players just don’t stick around at Chelsea long enough to come good.
Even before BlueCo’s reign, Chelsea were known for attracting the brightest talents to Stamford Bridge.
It wasn’t always a hit. Andriy Shevchenko flopped at Chelsea after winning the Ballon d’Or, and that’s just one example.
Anelka singles out another who played for the Blues just 31 times in two seasons before departing for pastures new.
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Nicolas Anelka was shocked by Lassana Diarra’s talent at Chelsea
Anelka was asked about the player who shocked him the most in his long career, and he named Lassana Diarra, who played for Chelsea as a youngster before eventually joining Real Madrid.
He said: “Diarra, one player with a different style, when I knew him and I played with him in the French team he shocked me even more because we weren’t talking much about him.
“At the time I think he was playing for Chelsea, he was young and that was early in his career, there was not much noise around him, but as soon as he stepped onto the pitch it was something incredible.”
Diarra, a combative French midfielder like N’Golo Kante and Claude Makelele, played for Chelsea in the mid 2000s.
He never got going fully for the Blues, considered a depth option by Jose Mourinho. He would move to Arsenal at 22, experiencing similar play-time issues. Two seasons at Portsmouth followed before he made the move to Real Madrid.
Jose Mourinho’s funny story about Lassana Diarra
Diarra never found his feet at Chelsea, or in England for that matter.
His prime years were spent in the Spanish capital, where he started about half the games.
Mourinho managed the Frenchman both in London and in Madrid, and had mixed emotions about the talented Diarra.
He recalls the stress Diarra and his agent used to cause him, saying: “I coached Lassana Diarra at Real Madrid and Chelsea. All this grey hair on my head is because of Lassana and his agent.
“If he plays 90 minutes and performs well, his agent comes the next day demanding a new contract and a higher salary. If he’s on the bench and not playing, his agent comes on Monday morning asking for a meeting because Lassana wants to leave.”
Mourinho tells the tale with a smile, but you can tell he’s not messing.
Diarra never reached his potential at Stamford Bridge, but there’s no denying the quality he possessed. His career has a tinge of ‘What could’ve been’ to it.