Shevchenko and Chelsea or The transfer that should never have happened. Why did the Ukrainian sharpshooter fail in London?

It was the summer of 2006. Andrei Shevchenko had another successful season in the AC Milan jersey and he received an irresistible offer. Rich Chelsea wanted him. At the time it was beginning a new era, with two titles in a row, and the Ukrainian sharpshooter wanted to be part of the story. But it didn’t go the way the club, the players or the fans wanted.

Shevchenko became an AC Milan legend

Andriy Shevchenko peeked into adult football in a Dynamo Kiev jersey. He soon began to shine and as a teenager became a key player for the Ukrainian side. He even helped to five Ukrainian league titles.

It was only a matter of time before one of the world’s giants bought him. And it happened in the summer of 1999, when the famous AC Milan brought him to the San Siro for the then quite high sum of almost 24 million euros.

The acclimatisation of the new 22-year-old reinforcement did not take too long. In his very first season, Shevchenko scored 29 competitive goals, and in the next one he even crossed the 30-goal mark and it was all clear. The investment paid off.

In fact, he continued his great performances the whole time he was at the club. In total, in the Rossonerri jersey, Shevchenko scored 175 goals and added 45 assists in 322 competitive matches.

He has been the Champions League top scorer three times, dominated the Serie A scoring stats twice, won the Ballon d’Or in 2004, helped win the Champions League in the 2002/03 season and overall won five trophies with the famous big club.

It is certainly worth mentioning that Shevchenko is the second highest scorer in AC Milan’s history. He has undoubtedly repaid the amount for which the Rossoneri acquired him. In addition, he also earned the club something with his departure to Chelsea.

Shevchenko began to fade away at Chelsea

One of the best strikers and indeed footballers of his time. Andrei Shevchenko was, in short, a player who was undoubtedly worth shelling out big money for. And Chelsea did so in the summer of 2006.

The Blues were beginning a new era, having had two seasons in which they had won the title under Jose Mourinho. It was no wonder the Ukrainian couldn’t resist. Moreover, the London club made him the most expensive player in the club’s history at the time, paying almost 44 million euros for him.

But there was a catch. It was the owner Roman Abramovich, not the coach Mourinho, who was interested in the player. And we all know who always had the final say at Chelsea. Regardless of who fits the coach’s concept or playing style.

Mourinho reportedly wanted Zlatan Ibrahimovic, however he got Shevchenko and had to deal with it. And it turned out that Shevchenko’s reputation as a feared sharpshooter never materialized and Mourinho was fired after a year.

The overall numbers don’t look that terrible, but it should have been much better. The Ukrainian played 77 competitive games, scored 22 goals and added 10 assists. In the Premier League, he scored only 9 times.

After Mourinho’s departure, it was expected to improve, but alas. Shevchenko couldn’t acclimatise to English football, he didn’t have enough speed, he was plagued by injuries, the whole thing just didn’t add up. Including the enormous pressure on the Ukrainian star.

Competition in the form of Didier Drogba isn’t something you want either. There was then a lot of discussion about Mourinho’s personal relationship with Shevchenko, their shootouts with each other in the media. The day Shevchenko signed at Chelsea is often referred to as the day Mourinho’s end at Stamford Bridge began to be written.

Had it not been for the transfer, perhaps Shevchenko could have enjoyed another Champions League title with AC Milan in 2007, perhaps he would have continued to score goal after goal.

The gunpowder has dampened, the end of his career in Kiev

When things didn’t work out at Chelsea, Shevchenko was given the opportunity to return to the San Siro. But it wasn’t like before. The man who had become a legend at AC Milan didn’t have a proper place in the team. He came off the bench when he got the chance, but the goals didn’t come.

So in 2009, as a 32-year-old Ukrainian superstar, he returned to Dynamo Kiev, where he gave one last reminder of his shooting skills. He didn’t play as much, but he scored goals and in his last three seasons before retiring he scored a magnificent 30 goals across all competitions.

If we add these numbers to the ones he scored in a Dynamo jersey before he went abroad, he scored 124 goals for the Kiev club, to which he added 19 assists. All this in 249 competitive matches.

Shevchenko ended his career at the age of 35. A Ukrainian legend, one of the best players of his generation at least, a Ballon d’Or winner and a phenomenal goalscorer.

Source: Transfermarkt, Chelsea FC, AC Milan, The Guardian