Christensen next: The 13 players to play for both Chelsea and Barcelona

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Cesc Fabregas playing for Chelsea, London, Stamford Bridge 4 February 2017.

In the 21st century, few clubs are anywhere near as successful as Chelsea and Barcelona in terms of trophies. Some of the best players in the world have played for either side, and 13 throughout history have even played for both.

Andreas Christensen looks set to be the next to do so, with his move to Barcelona on a free transfer from Chelsea far beyond the point of rumours.

It would make him the 14th player to wear the two famous shirts, and he would be hoping to join the ranks of the many who won trophies at both as well.

So here are the previous 13 in no particular order, along with how they got on at both clubs.

Samuel Eto’o

The Cameroonian legend, who scored 130 goals in 199 games for Barcelona, played for 12 different clubs throughout his career, which included one season at Chelsea in 2013-14.

His time at Chelsea was entertaining, if not that prolific, Eto’o getting 12 goals in 35 appearances, including a hat-trick against Manchester United and an iconic celebration against Tottenham.

His manager Jose Mourinho had suggested that the striker’s real age was 35 when he was actually 32. In retaliation, Eto’o scored against Spurs and celebrated in style…

Juliano Belletti

The Brazilian right-back joined Chelsea directly from Barcelona in 2007 after 102 games and one goal for the Spanish club.

His one goal was the winner in the 2006 Champions League final, but he found himself with little playing time in his final season and subsequently moved to west London.

Belletti spent three years at Chelsea, scoring five goals in 94 appearances, before returning to Brazil with Fluminese on a free transfer in 2010.

Mark Hughes

Hughes was a brilliant forward at some of Europe’s biggest clubs – he just didn’t show it in Catalonia. Barcelona bought him from Manchester United for around £2million in 1986, but was disappointing in his only season, scoring five in 36 games before being loaned out to Bayern Munich.

Hughes then returned to United for a second spell in 1988 before joining Chelsea in 1995, where he scored 39 times in 123 appearances, including some stunners.

Pedro

The Spanish winger was an excellent player for Barcelona, scoring 99 goals in 321 games over nine seasons and winning everything on offer.

But Pedro looked for a move after falling behind Luis Suarez and Neymar in the Barcelona pecking order and joined Chelsea for £30million in 2015.

He became a reliable winger for the Blues, scoring 43 times in 206 appearances before leaving for Roma in 2020.

Pedro has a medal haul most players could only dream of, domestically and internationally, and even scored in the 2011 Champions League final.

Criminally underrated.

Radamel Falcao playing for Chelsea against Liverpool, Stamford Bridge, October 2015.

READ: The eight players Chelsea signed alongside Pedro and how they fared

Albert Ferrer

A Spanish right-back who came through the Barcelona academy, Ferrer made over 200 appearances for their first team between 1990 and 1998 before joining Chelsea.

He quickly became a popular figure at Stamford Bridge, making over 100 appearances in five years before retiring in 2003.

Cesc Fabregas

An alumnus of Barcelona’s famous La Masia academy, Fabregas moved to Arsenal as a teenager and became a world-class midfielder.

When Barcelona came back for him, there was no way he could say no, and after a few summers of intense transfer sagas, he joined his boyhood club for around £35million.

But his Barcelona dream did not go as expected, as he struggled to displace Xavi and Andres Iniesta to play in his preferred position and decided to depart the club after three seasons.

Much to the annoyance of Gooners and the delight of Blues, he joined Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea in 2014, where he spent four and a half successful seasons, winning two Premier League titles.

What. A. Player.

Emmanuel Petit

A midfielder who played for the same clubs as Fabregas, Petit joined Barcelona in 2000 after three years at Arsenal but left after just one season.

Petit then joined Chelsea for around £7.5million in 2001, where he played just 55 league games in three seasons before retiring.

A no-nonsense midfielder, Petit won the World Cup with France in 1998 and the Premier League with Arsenal but was trophyless at both Barcelona and Chelsea.

Eidur Gudjohnsen

Eidur Gudjohnsen was one of our favourite kind of forwards – the ones who don’t really score that much but are absolutely brilliant anyway.

He scored 78 times in 263 Chelsea appearances between 2000 and 2006, and just 19 in 114 games after joining Barcelona for £8million to replace Henrik Larsson.

But it was what he did for his team-mates – the likes of Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba at Chelsea, and Lionel Messi and Samuel Eto’o at Barca – that really stole our hearts. Gudjohnsen was a creator of space and time, and a man always happy to let others steal the limelight.

READ: A tribute to Eidur Gudjohnsen, football’s equivalent to Forrest Gump

Deco

After starring as the creative presence in Jose Mourinho’s Champions League-winning Porto side, the delightfully impish Deco joined Barcelona in 2004 and spent four years at the club, where he won the Champions League again in 2006.

Two years later Pep Guardiola arrived and immediately gave Deco the heave-ho. The midfielder packed his bags and became the first signing of the Luiz Felipe Scolari era at the Bridge.

While he did provide some great moments at Chelsea – including an absolute shitpinger of a goal on his Premier League debut against Portsmouth and a bicycle kick against Bolton – Deco didn’t ever reproduce his Barca or Porto form.

The Brazilian-born Portuguese international spent just two years in west London, playing 58 games, before seeing out the rest of his career at Fluminese. Nowadays he’s an agent, representing Leeds United star Raphinha among others.

Boudewijn Zenden

“The transfer to Barcelona was a dream come true,” Zenden told us of his 1998 move from PSV. “It’s a magnificent club with a lot of history and only the best players go there so you’re part of them.

“Being able to win the league is something incredible, something you have to experience, and when you pass through the club you become part of their history. The city as well is beautiful so it was just a perfect period of my career.”

He was not quite so happy at Chelsea.

He spent two years there and 15 minutes off the bench in the 2002 FA Cup final featured among his 49 appearances. But he was quickly moved on to Middlesbrough after the Roman Abramovich takeover in 2003.

He did become a hero on Teesside, though. Swings and roundabouts, eh.

Middlesbrough's Boudewijn Zenden celebrates Carling Cup Final victory

READ: Bolo Zenden recalls his varied career: Barca, Boro, Liverpool, Sunderland…

Winston Bogarde

The Dutch fullback, who spent two years at Barcelona after spells at Ajax and Milan, joined Chelsea in 2000 as the Dutch influence at the Camp Nou waned.

But Chelsea manager Gianluca Vialli was unaware of Bogarde’s signing at Chelsea, and when Claudio Ranieri came in, he did not want the player.

Chelsea had offered him a staggeringly large contract which no one else could afford, so Bogarde spent the final few years of his career in the reserves, playing just nine league games in four years at Chelsea.

Even he admitted that he may be “one of the worst buys in the history of the Premier League.”

Ricardo Quaresma

We love players with flair and trickery up their sleeves, but neither Barcelona nor Chelsea took a shine to Quaresma and his trademark ‘trivela’ shots and crosses.

The Portuguese winger spent just one season at Barcelona in 2003, before moving to Porto and then Inter Milan.

In 2009 he joined Chelsea on loan from Inter, where he made just four league appearances without scoring.

Quaresma has had an entertaining career, but his spells at both clubs were entirely unforgettable.

Oriol Romeu

A Barcelona youth graduate, Romeu made one senior league appearance for the Catalan giants before joining Chelsea in 2011.

There, he made 22 Premier League games across two seasons but became part of the infamous Chelsea loan army, going out Valencia and Stuttgart before joining Southampton permanently in 2015.

Romeu has really established himself as a solid pro on the South Coast, making over 200 appearances across seven seasons. But it’s probably fair to say he’s found his level – Chelsea and Barcelona won’t have many regrets about this one.

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