Chelsea have a Brazilian core to the first team squad with Joao Pedro, Estevao Willian and Andrey Santos, but how do they stack up against the South American greats in the club’s history?
Stamford Bridge has been blessed with top Brazilian stars across the pitch in their history, with many believing Estevao has the potential to be right up there when all is said and done.
Thiago Silva, Willian and Oscar all had legendary careers in West London, with 17 Brazilians featuring for Chelsea so far.
Imagine Thiago Silva and Raphinha in a Chelsea shirt together 🔥
It almost happened in 2022!
Raphinha and Thiago Silva.
Photo by Visionhaus/Getty Images
The Chelsea Chronicle have ranked every player from the country of the five-time World Cup winners based on their time at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea v Arsenal - Premier League
Photo by Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images
Ranking every Brazilian to play for Chelsea
17: Mineiro – 2 games, 0 goals
Mineiro was brought in to Chelsea by Luiz Felipe Scolari, and immediately drew comparisons from his new manager to Claude Makelele.
He would end up featuring just twice for the Blues, making only one start in the League Cup.
16: Deivid Washington – 3 games, 0 goals
Still a part of the Chelsea squad, Deivid Washington enjoyed all of his first team appearances so far under the rein of Mauricio Pochettino.
He has struggled for minutes for the U21s this season behind the in-form Shumaira Mheuka.
15: Alexandre Pato – 2 games, 1 goal
A season which feels like a fever dream to most Chelsea fans, they brought in Alexandre Pato on loan midway through the 2015/16 campaign.
He featured just twice, although found the net from the penalty spot in a rare dominant victory against Aston Villa.
14: Lucas Piazon: 3 games, 0 goals
Chelsea’s Young Player of the Year in 2012, plenty was promised of Lucas Piazon when he arrived at Stamford Bridge.
The most notable outing for Piazon came against Aston Villa, where he set up a goal but unfortunately missed a penalty, and therefore his chance to score for the first team.
13: Emerson Thome – 22 games, 0 goals
Signed by the Blues in 1999, Thome struggled to break up Chelsea’s centre-back pairing of Marcel Desailly and Frank Leboeuf.
Unfortunately, he was cup-tied and unable to take part in Chelsea’s FA Cup winning run in this season.
12: Filipe Luis: 26 games, 1 goal
A Premier League winner with Chelsea, Filipe Luis struggled to nail down a regular role in the Chelsea side behind Cesar Azpilicueta.
While their relationship on the pitch came to an end early on, they would meet up again in the Club World Cup, where his Flamengo side beat Enzo Maresca’s Blues.
11: Kenedy – 30 games, 3 goals
Kenedy’s time at Chelsea was dominated by loan spells. He was away from the club on five different occasions before finally leaving in 2022.
The Brazilian was recently in the news again after he scored a Puskas award-nominee goal for Pachuca.
10: Juliano Belletti – 94 games, 5 goals
Champions League final goalscorer Juliano Belletti would win four trophies during his time at Chelsea between 2007-2010.
The full-back started to feature in the middle of midfield at times towards the end of his Blues career, and was not afraid of scoring a long-range belter.
How Andrey Santos compares to Moises Caicedo
Photo by Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images
9: Andrey Santos – 36 games, 1 goal
Despite only being in his first season as a first team player, Santos has proven that he can be a very important player in the years to come at the club.
Liam Rosenior is a massive fan of his, having already had the pleasure of managing him earlier in his career at Strasbourg.
8: Estevao Willian – 32 games, 7 goals
The sky really is the limit for Estevao. Expect him to rapidly climb this list as time goes on.
The wonderkid has enjoyed a brilliant start, particularly in the Champions League, and Blues fans are waiting for him to be given more opportunities to thrive.
7: Alex – 134 games, 10 goals
Alex proved to be a very useful centre-back for Chelsea between 2007-2012, and while he defended well he is best remembered for his impact at the other end of the pitch.
The Brazilian was a real threat from free-kicks, and thundered home a number of important goals, none more so than in the Champions League quarter-finals against Liverpool.
6: Joao Pedro – 39 games, 17 goals
Chelsea knew they were signing a star when Pedro arrived at the Club World Cup, scoring three goals across the semi-finals and final.
The Blues have seemingly found their answer to Didier Drogba at last, and his start at a new club compared to Liam Delap has been an indicator in itself how impressive he has been.
5: Oscar – 203 games, 38 goals
Now we get into the real long-serving stars. Oscar was part of one of the most devastating attacking quartets in the Premier League for a number of seasons.
Oscar has remained a huge fan of Chelsea since leaving the club and moving to China, openly saying he would love to return to Stamford Bridge.
4: David Luiz – 248 games, 18 goals
David Luiz knocked up nearly 250 games across two spells at the club, being part of a back three who won the Premier League under Antonio Conte.
His performance while injured in the 2012 Champions League final will go down in history for the club, with that determination what got them over the line in Europe for the first time.
3: Ramires – 251 games, 34 goals
One of the most reliable members of the Chelsea side during his time at the club, Ramires was a regular under a variety of top managers.
When talking about iconic moments, they don’t get much better than his goal in the semi-finals of the 2012 Champions League, chipping in from range at the Nou Camp.
2: Willian – 339 games, 63 goals
Just missing out on the top spot, Willian would likely rank higher if he didn’t play for the club at the same time as Eden Hazard.
After the Belgian departed in 2019, the winger showed he was more than just a support star, and was the best performing player in Frank Lampard’s first campaign in charge of the club.
The top five Brazilians to play for Chelsea!
Would you have Estevao or Joao Pedro on this list?
1: Thiago Silva – 155 games, 9 goals
Despite not having the longevity of Willian, we are ranking Thiago Silva as the greatest Brazilian to ever play for Chelsea.
The centre-back was not only a fan favourite, but a real role model to the younger players coming through at the club.
Despite no domestic trophies coming their way during his time at the club, he would play a key role in the Champions League triumph in 2021, starting the final against Manchester City.
Join Our Newsletter
Receive a digest of our best Chelsea content each week direct to your mailbox