Top 10 Worst Chelsea Center-Backs of All Time (Ranked)

Top 10 Worst Chelsea Center-Backs of All Time (Ranked)

Chelsea history is littered with some of the biggest names in football history – Frank Lampard, Arjen Robben, Didier Drogba, Ashley Cole – the list goes on.

However, in no other position does Chelsea boast more genuinely world-class depth than at centre back: John Terry, Ricardo Carvalho, Gary Cahill, David Luiz, Antonio Rudiger, Thiago Silva, William Gallas, Cesar Azpilicueta … you get the idea. The Blues have a defensive legacy that makes most other sides blush, one that has helped them become the most decorated side in London.

In spite of this, even the best recruitment strategies can experience misfires, and Chelsea is no different. Alongside their long list of world-class backliners, the Blues have acquired a number of decidedly less desirable centre-backs, players whose time at Chelsea is remembered for all the wrong reasons, or alternatively, isn’t remembered at all.

So, in no particular order, here are the 10 worst centre backs in the history of Chelsea Football Club.

10 Malang Sarr (2020-2024)

Starting with a relatively recent entrant onto this list, Malang Sarr was touted as Chelsea’s next potential defensive star when he was brought in as a highly rated free agent in 2020 upon the conclusion of Chelsea’s transfer embargo being lifted. Immediately loaned out to Porto for the 2020/21 season, Sarr returned the next season ready to compete for his place in Thomas Tuchel’s first team.

Turning down loan offers from across Europe, the Frenchman was clearly confident that he could earn minutes for the then-reigning European champions, but it quickly became clear that he had greatly overestimated his own abilities. With Thiago Silva and Toni Rudiger the go-to starting centre-back pairing, Sarr was only given occasional opportunities to impress, and when he did, he looked unconvincing.

In a 1-0 win against Brentford in particular, questions began to be asked - every time the ball went near the Frenchman, it felt as if something would go wrong, and on countless occasions, they very nearly did. In just eight Chelsea games, Sarr lost the faith of the manager, spent a season training with the youth teams, went on loan to Monaco for the 2022/23 campaign and, in the summer of 2024, he eventually sealed (another) free transfer to Lens, where he is a regular starter today.

9. Benoit Badiashile (2023-Present)

Though it may seem harsh to add a player still currently active at Chelsea to this list, Badiashile makes the cut thanks to the false hope that he brought with him when he arrived from Monaco in 2023.

Put straight into a Chelsea side struggling to perform under Graham Potter, the Frenchman took to the Premier League like a duck to water initially, his composure, passing range, and dauntingly physical stature bringing a semblance of safety to the Chelsea backline. However, anyone can look good in a side that finishes 12th, and ever since Chelsea started to work their way back towards the top five, Badiashile has been a different player.

Nelson Caldeira (former assistant coach at Monaco) on Badiashile:

"We realised Benoit had tremendous talent. He was the most talented player of that Monaco generation. He does not shake if he is playing against Mbappe or Neymar. His character is outstanding"

High praise 🔵💪 pic.twitter.com/RSdmKgmb3t

— Harry (@HarryCFC170) May 6, 2023

Gone is the early composure he used to steady the ship in his mid-season move. Out of nowhere, he quickly became both error-prone and injury-prone and promptly lost his place to Trevoh Chalobah and Wesley Fofana, as well as Tosin Adarabioyo when he arrived (don’t worry, we’ll get to him later). In terms of ability, Badiashile certainly isn’t the worst on this list, but for the simple fact that he served fans a false dream in his first half-season at the club, he has to be on here.

8. Papy Djilobodji (2015-2016)

Now Djilobodji is a cracking entrant. Brought from Ligue 1 side Nantes for up to £4 million as the Blues looked to defend their 2014/15 Premier League title. At 26 years old, he was supposed to provide experienced backup should any of David Luiz, John Terry or Gary Cahill get injured.

But despite making over 170 appearances in the French top flight, it appears that continental quality did not translate to Premier League minutes for the Senegal international. Unable to compete with his illustrious fellow centre-back, Djilobodji quickly made himself at home on the bench, a place he would rarely leave.

In fact, he would play just one single minute for Chelsea before he left, coming on in stoppage time for Radamel Falcao in a League Cup win over Walsall, meaning that at least he would leave the club at the end of the season for Sunderland with an albeit fleeting memory of wearing the famous blue shirt.

7. Matt Miazga (2016-2022)

Continuing the pattern of promising young talents signed by the club before they proved themselves at the top level, Miazga’s signing in January 2016 was considered baffling even at the time. With just one season of senior football, playing for New York Red Bulls in the MLS, the New Jersey-born defender was far from the finished product.

Even so, brought for £3.5 million just a day before deadline day, there was no time to secure the American a loan, and so the Blues were obliged to give him at least occasional opportunities. Starting in a 4-0 away win against Aston Villa in April, Miazga earned himself another start against Swansea next time out. However, his lack of experience showed, and he was subbed at half-time. He would never don the Chelsea shirt again.

American defender Matt Miazga is heading to @fccincinnati on a contract through the 2025 season, with an option for 2026! 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/od2ezsRmNx

— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) August 5, 2022

Loaned out no less than six times to five different clubs over the next few years, Vitesse, Nantes, Reading, Anderlecht and Alaves all saw Miazga pass through their doors before, in 2022, he was finally allowed to leave, returning to America to play for FC Cincinnati. He won MLS Defender of the Year in his first season back, a testament to the talent Chelsea saw when they brought him – he was just thrown into the firing line too early.

6. Tal Ben-Haim (2007-2008)

One from the mid-2000s now, Israeli international Ben-Haim arrived at Chelsea as something of a cult hero from Bolton. Key to the Wanderers side that managed a series of top-half finishes, he was eventually rewarded with his first big move, a free transfer to Stamford Bridge. However, controversy quickly ensued.

Soon after Ben Haim arrived, Jose Mourinho was sacked, and Avram Grant came in to replace him. It didn’t take long before Ben-Haim’s lack of minutes converted into verbal frustration. His exact words? “It was Jose who brought me here. If I knew Avram Grant was going to be coach, I would have signed for another club.”

As you’d expect, this resulted in a fine of two weeks' wages and the end of Ben-Haim’s time in the first team. After 13 appearances for the Blues, the centre-back was unceremoniously sold to Manchester City, with the club remarkably making a £5 million profit off of him. Better to cut your losses sooner rather than later.

5. Tosin Adarabioyo (2024-present)

You would be totally fair in calling Tosin’s inclusion the harshest on this list. After all, he is a Conference League and Club World Cup champion, and despite being at the club for less than two seasons, he has already amassed 62 appearances for the club. However, Chelsea’s backline is not what it used to be, and despite being a regular starter, Tosin embodies how far the Blues have fallen.

Brought in on a free transfer from Fulham in 2024, Tosin was not brought in to change the way Chelsea play overnight – instead, he was brought in as a mentor, as an experienced head to behave as an example to Chelsea’s incredibly youthful team, despite being aged just 27 at the time.

Whenever this man comes onto the pitch, something always ends up going wrong.

Even at Hull, we looked so comfortable, soon as he came they started attacking.

Tosin Adarabioyo shouldn't play for Chelsea U21s, let alone the first team.

How has he worn the armband at my club? pic.twitter.com/hI2VasiTvL

— JnR (@CFCJnR) February 21, 2026

Moreover, he has no particularly heavy influence when Chelsea are on the back foot – yes, his height makes him nifty in an aerial duel, but his positioning is questionable, his passing range is limited, and his decision-making is reckless despite him being the most experienced player in the Chelsea squad. Brought in to mentor his younger teammates, it may be worth Chelsea calling an end to the experiment before the now 28-year-old causes more harm than good.

4. Slobodan Rajkovic (2007-2011)

A big name from a young age in Serbia, Chelsea brought Slobodan Rajkovic purely off his domestic reputation when he was just 16 years old back in 2007. Brought for more than £3 million, he was supposed to be their next big young star. And then he failed to get a work permit.

Unable to get one for the next three years, Rajkovic was constantly loaned out, first to PSV Eindhoven, then to Twente, and then finally to Vitesse. He played well at all these clubs, racking up 60 appearances in all, but as time went on, his youthful promise began to wane, and soon enough, he was simply another pretty average 20-something-year-old.

Eventually, and unsurprisingly, he became disillusioned with the club and eventually negotiated an exit from the club in favour of the German side Hamburger, but he would never reach anywhere near the same level as at Chelsea again. Playing for Darmstadt, Palermo, Perugia and Lokomotiv Moscow, Rajkovic announced his retirement while playing for MTK Budapest in the Hungarian League.

3. Jeffrey Bruma (2009-2013)

Another potentially harsh inclusion, Bruma makes the list for being the most confusing player Chelsea have potentially ever had – how can you play 26 times for the Dutch National Team, despite managing just 10 games for Chelsea?

Brought from Feyenoord at the age of just 15, hopes were high for Bruma, and by the age of 18, he was making occasional cameos in the squad as the Blues waltzed their way to the Premier League trophy in 2010. However, like so many others on this list, Bruma failed to deliver on the obvious promise he had possessed as a youngster.

After loans to Leicester and then Hamburger, Chelsea realised that he would never be able to hit the heights that were required of him, and eventually, he was shipped off to PSV. From here, it was a downward spiral for the Dutchman – playing for Wolfsburg, Schalke and Mainz, he eventually found his way to Turkey before eventually ending his career back in his homeland of the Netherlands, playing in the second tier for RKC Waalwijk.

2. Nathan Aké (2011-2017)

Alright, you must be thinking I’ve lost the plot – Ake has won a Champions League, four Premier Leagues and every other trophy imaginable; how can he be on Chelsea’s worst-ever centre-backs list?

🏆 x4 Premier League
🏆 x2 League Cup
🏆 FA Cup
🏆 Community Shield
🏆 UEFA Champions League
🏆 UEFA Super Cup
🏆 FIFA Club World Cup
🏆 Europa League

Today, Nathan Aké turns 31. 🇳🇱✨ pic.twitter.com/vkganO0juu

— EuroFoot (@eurofootcom) February 18, 2026

Well, the issue is that Ake achieved the majority of these wins at other clubs, making just 17 appearances for Chelsea. Tipped for big things for his entire stint at the club, Ake flattered to deceive, turning three high-profile loan deals into rare showings on the pitch which, more often than not, went completely unnoticed. Despite the obvious potential he had shown at other clubs, it just didn’t seem like it translated to Chelsea blue.

Eventually, Chelsea cut their losses, selling him to Bournemouth, one of his former loaning clubs, for £20 million, and it was here that the Dutchman finally started to reach his potential. Making over 100 appearances for the Cherries as they established themselves as a Premier League side, he was eventually signed by Man City for £41 million. The rest, as they say, is history.

1. Winston Bogarde (2000-2004)

I know I said at the start that this list was in no particular order, but Bogarde had to go at number one – rarely has a signing looked like a bigger waste of money than the former Barcelona and Ajax centre-back when he was signed in 2000. However, it wasn’t the transfer fee that was a waste – it was his monumental salary.

Newly appointed manager Claudio Ranieri, who had no say in the transfer deal as it was agreed before his arrival, immediately wanted Bogarde to leave. However, earning £40,000 a week, an extortionate wage for the time, Bogarde rejected any approaches from other clubs, happy to grow his bank account for four years despite barely playing any football.

Winston Bogarde at Chelsea pic.twitter.com/JFYkqvl1j5

— On Yer Head App - Football Trivia Game (@onyerheadapp) November 6, 2025

In all, the 20-time Dutch international made just 12 appearances for Chelsea in four years. Taking his salary into account, that averages out at about £650,000 per appearance. Bogarde was a good player and could perhaps even be considered a great one in his day, but his hunger for money above all else made him one of the most hated figures in Stamford Bridge history and naturally inserted him into the conversation for worst centre back ever.