Former Chelsea target and current Paris Saint-Germain star Ousmane Dembele has just claimed the 2025 Ballon d’Or award.
It was a very proud moment for both the player and PSG, but had Chelsea been prepared to take a gamble on him in 2022, it could have been one of their stars collecting the honour on Monday night.
Cole Palmer finished in the top 10, so that is at least one thing the Club World Cup winners can be proud of.
The signing of Raheem Sterling three years ago, though, is definitely something that they will want to forget about.
Chelsea considered signing Ousmane Dembele in 2022 before eventually buying Raheem Sterling
Rather than Dembele, it was Sterling who arrived at Stamford Bridge in the summer of 2022 as Chelsea’s high-profile attacking signing.
The Blues were interested in Dembele, but journalist Gianluca Di Marzio reported at the time that the club had some concerns about the player.
Instead, Chelsea fans were told to keep an eye on Sterling, who eventually joined their club from Premier League rivals Manchester City.
Fast forward to the present, and it is quite clear that the decision makers at Chelsea made a horrendous choice.
While Dembele has gone on to become the best footballer in the world following his Ballon d’Or success, Sterling has proven to be a disastrous signing for Chelsea.
Right now, the winger is not even with Enzo Maresca‘s first-team squad. He is currently rotting away with Chelsea’s infamous “bomb squad”.
Simon Jordan has little sympathy for Sterling, though, believing that the 30-year-old should have done more to find a new club in the last transfer window.
What Marc Cucurella has said about Ousmane Dembele
Marc Cucurella joined Chelsea the same summer that the club looked at Dembele and is a fan of the Frenchman. The full-back recently named him as the toughest opponent he has ever faced.
When Cucurella spoke about Dembele earlier this month, he said: “I’ve had the good fortune or misfortune to play against many, and all of them are very good, but if I have to choose just one, it might be Dembele, who is the toughest opponent I’ve faced so far.
“He’s very quick and uses both feet, so he can come out from either side… The truth is that I’ve struggled a lot against him because I didn’t know how to stop him, although, from what I’ve seen so far, he’s never let me down.”
It is a shame that they are not teammates. Chelsea fans would love to have both men in their squad.
The Conference League holders need way more quality in their side if they are to challenge for the Premier League title again.
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