Manchester United and England legend Wayne Rooney has reminisced about a former Chelsea player whose brilliance was perhaps overlooked.
Of course, there are so many superb individuals in Chelsea’s history that go under the radar and don’t get the credit they truly deserve. The spine of Petr Cech, John Terry, Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba are usually the first to be remembered from a successful team at Stamford Bridge in the 21st century.
Back in May, Rooney admitted he would have loved to play with Drogba, the iconic Blues striker.
He’s now shone a light on a former Chelsea star who he found extremely challenging to play against.
Wayne Rooney raves about Chelsea hero Ricardo Carvalho
On BBC Sport, Rooney was tasked with picking the top five toughest defenders he ever came up against in the Champions League.
Chelsea supporters may enjoy hearing that he went for Ricardo Carvalho in fourth spot, suggesting he was perhaps a tad underrated. Incidentally, John Terry was number one on his list.
Rooney said: “Number four I went for Carvalho. I think he’s such a good player. Complimented John Terry really well. They were very difficult to play against the two of them, experienced leader, obviously clever in the way he got me sent off as well in the World Cup. But no, I think he could pass the ball, he could organise, he could head the ball, tackle. So, he was always a tough player to play against.
When asked if Carvalho gets overlooked because of John Terry, Rooney added: “I think it’s a bit like [Ibrahima] Konate with [Virgil] Van Dijk if you like. I think Konate is a fantastic player, but sometimes that gets overlooked because of [how good] Van Dijk is. Maybe not as much as that, but I think Carvalho was a massive part in the success which Chelsea had and he was nasty as well.
“He’d leave his foot in and again I think there’s a theme with most of the players who I’ve picked on this, is they’re all quite clever and understand the game and know all the little tricks in the game. So he was one of my toughest I played against for sure.”
Back in 2023, Carvalho explained his relationship with Terry was telepathic when reflecting on the partnership they had in the heart of defence.
If you look at the current Blues defence in the modern day, they are miles away from what went before them. In fact, we’d be surprised if we ever see such a formidable backline again at the Bridge because they were part of an outrageous defence.
Ricardo Carvalho is a Chelsea great
Carvalho, who played at Chelsea between 2004 and 2010, took English football by storm during a six-year spell.
The Portuguese star may have been the B-side to Terry, similar to how Ibrahima Konate operates alongside Virgil van Dijk at Liverpool, but he was still a world-class defender in his own right.
| Appearances | Goals | Trophies |
| 210 | 11 | 9 |
If the retired defender was playing in his prime right now, he would be in the conversation for the world’s very best centre-half because he had a bit of everything in his game.
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